Love at Long Range (VERSION 1)
by AshleighAishwarya
Summary: UNOFFICIAL VERSION. They met when they were 7 years old, after he took her hand during that paradrop in 2531 and have been inseparable ever since. Years later, in 2552, after getting rescued and placed into the Spartan-IV program, Jun looks to move on with his life but all he wants is to see his princess, Celestina, once again. Things prove to be difficult when her PTSD relapses.
1. Recovering

**A/N: Hi there! Welcome to my newest Halo fan-fiction, featuring everyone's favorite sniper, Jun. Left uninspired, this story was left alone for 3 years. Now, for some reason, I've gotten the urge to get write this, so here I am with newer ideas and concepts! Hope you guys like it and stay tuned for newer chapters!**

**deviantART gallery! -dot-com/gallery/34087265/Halo-Love-at-Long-Range**

* * *

**Halo - "Love At Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Lionsong Medical Facility  
October 2nd, 2552  
1:24pm**

**_**October 2nd**, 2552  
  
Surprised?_**

**_I know. I'm not the kind to write. But I think that recent events make it justifiable to keep a little journal. _**

**_Where shall I begin?_**

**_I'm alive, but hurt. In fact, I'm unfit for active duty._**

**_After I said my goodbyes to Carter, Emile and our newest recruit, Misha, I escorted Dr. Halsey to CASTLE base. There was minimal Covenant activity in the area when we arrived and by the time we cleared them, more had arrived. The remaining UNSC soldiers didn't make it. It was all me. So I told her to seal all doors and I fought them off the best I could._**

**_A Hunter knocked me out cold for a while. When I woke up, I was in a Phantom, being taken to goodness knows where. The dropship ran into some trouble, the whole crew was in disarray… needless to say, I managed to take control of the Phantom. I identified myself and the UNSC Longsword it was battling picked me up. _**

**_But during the whole thing, I myself was in disarray – the bruised and broken ribs, the feeling in my left arm and right leg fading away, the multiple stab wounds I had in my back… I could pretty much hear my heart pounding in my head. _**

**_Stepping into the Longsword, I passed out instantly. I woke up and found myself in this bed, in this medical facility, Lionsong. They told me I was lucky to be alive._**

**_'Lucky'? I don't think so. I was told that the rest of Noble Team didn't make it. None of them. Not one of them left. Sole survivor, once again. And that feeling… it's been eating me up ever since I got the news. It's just not fair. _**

**_I've been missing for about 3-4 weeks apparently. It's been 3 weeks since they found me; I've been recovering ever since. Rehab's been going well – the feeling in my right leg is completely back. I'm also there for my left arm. _**

**_But therapy? Not so much. After all, I don't like to talk to strangers about my problems. I'd much rather talk to people I know. _**

**_Diagnosed with PTSD. This, my past experiences with my feelings, and my horrible injuries give me a discharge from the program. I don't know what's installed for me after I fully recover. I guess I'll be doing desk work for the rest of my life. _**

**_The future's looking so cloudy for me. Why? _****_Why_****_ did I have to survive _****_again_****_?_**

"Pardon me, Spartan,"

Before he could write the next statement, a single gentle voice called from the doorway of his room. Jun glanced up to find an officer, perhaps in his 40s, in a wheelchair. He held a smile for the former Spartan-III as he waited there by the doorway for a reply.

"Can I… help you?"

"Jun, isn't it?"

Jun shut the journal and tossed it to his right where it landed on his bed softly. He dragged himself closer to the edge of the bed, feeling a little bit threatened by the new presence in his room. He never had any other visitors that didn't include doctors and nurses. "You have a name, sir?"

"Oh, of course. Forgive me. Musa-096. Commander."

"... Did you just give me a Spartan-II designation, commander?"

Musa gave a little nod, his smile not going anywhere. "That I did, Jun."

Something big was going to happen. Jun could feel it in his injured guts. He kept his composure and continued on. "I don't get commanders visiting me often. In fact, you've the first to come see me, yet I don't know who you are or your purpose here, commander."

"Please," He held up one hand politely. "Musa would be just fine. But you're right – I do have a purpose for coming to see you, Jun,"

_There it is. _"And that is?"

"The Spartan- IV program."

* * *

**_**October 3rd**, 2552  
_****_So…_**

**_Guess who's the new second-in-charge of the Spartan-IV program?_**


	2. Radioactive

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base****, Mars  
October 29th, 2552  
8:04am**

**_October 29th, 2552  
My first day at my new home: Hydra Base. Pretty neat office I have. I could get used to this. _**

**_Yesterday was my last day at Lionsong Medical Facility. It was then that I met Death, my personal AI and he'll be assisting me in my work with the program from now on. Musa told me I could have an AI to assist me, if I wanted to. To me honest, I was a little skeptical. Considering the fact that the whole of Noble Team was destroyed all for one AI, you gotta understand. But when Musa told me that the AI would be created from me, I supposed it was okay, in a way._**

**_This is Death's description:  
\- Death's avatar color is the same shade of green I used to have my armor in.  
\- He's wearing a hooded cloak with the hood up, but he's faceless, so there's just a black, gaping hole there. Underneath that cloak is, and I never would've guessed it, is an exact representation of my armor. NO KIDDING.  
\- It just gets better: he's carrying a large scythe that's as tall as he is.  
\- His personality? He's exactly like me, and that's not even weird. Loves to talk and annoy. He speaks in a Slavic accent and is very formal. And he has my memories. Well, most of them.  
\- When he's mad at someone, he screeches at them. I don't know what kind of damage it might do, so I have to remind myself never to piss him off.  
\- And he has the ability to appear life-sized. Cool, right?_**

**_It is. He's amazing. _**

**_I guess I won't be alone for now. And that's a really nice feeling. _**

**_I guess I can say that I'm going to be okay with my new life. But there's just something else and it's been haunting me for the last 4 years. _**

**_You guessed it. Celestina. _**

**_I miss her so much. I just can't seem to find a way to contact her. I want to see her again. I want to hear her voice again. I just want to be with her again. She'll make the last of this pain go away._**

* * *

**December 25th, 2552  
10:32am**

"Merry Christmas, Death!"

"And Merry Christmas to my favorite little Spartan!"

"Silly," Jun said as he entered his office in his leather jacket, black tank top and cargo pants with his personal data pad in hand. "I'm your only little Spartan."

"Not true," Death was activating his special ability to appear life-sized and right now, he was occupying the leather sofa, one leg over the other. "If Lady Misha was here, she would be my favorite little Spartan."

Misha was Noble Six, the closeted over-emotional Spartan who had found a true friend in Jun. He was slowly getting over all of their deaths at the moment, so the mention of her name, while it did cause Jun to wince a little on the inside, he had already learnt to remember the people he had lost as they had lived. It made things a little easier to bear, that was for sure. And this was all of Death's doing, what with his advice.

"Well, once upon a time, I did have the habit of calling her 'little Spartan'," Jun sat down his data pad on his desk. "I can see where you got that nickname from. How sweet of you to give me that nickname now."

Death got to his feet, tossing his scythe over to his right hand. "You know I kid, Jun. You will always be my favorite little Spartan, no matter what." So declaring playfully, he patted Jun's cheek.

"Gee... thank you?"

"You are welcome!" Death turned around on his heel to take his seat on the leather sofa once again. "So will we be going into town as you had suggested, Jun?"

"Yep," He then got behind his desk to retrieve his folders and briefly check their contents. "As soon as I'm done planning my week, you and I are going to have the best Christmas ever." He said jollily.

"Yes, I understand now - this excitement over Christmas. It puts everyone in such a good mood, you cannot help to be happy yourself,"

"Indeed," He then picked up his data pad. "Celestina told me this one Christmas she had with her family - she was 5 at the time - she told me how she was determined to wait up until midnight for Santa to appear. So on Christmas Eve, she waited and waited patiently in her room. It wasn't even midnight and she heard some kind of noise coming from the living room downstairs. When she got there, Santa had tripped over the presents. Santa turned out to be her dad. She felt so proud to find out that her dad was secretly Santa. I've always loved it when she would tell me that story - she would have this big smile on her face. Whenever she was upset as a kid, I would tell her to remember that day." Jun himself had his own smile right now. He glanced at Death who was just staring at him. "Yes?"

"Nothing, Jun. It is just… It is quite possibly the first time you mentioned Lady Celestina's name. I was wondering when you would talk to me about her."

Jun kept his little smile for his AI. "I never really talked about her because she wasn't a painful memory."

"You know, you are allowed to speak to me about other things, Jun." He said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I knew that,"

"Then why not say anything?"

"… Because I'm missing her like crazy," He finally admitted. Turning to his desk, he picked up the holo-still with one hand and looked at it. "To me, 4 years has been a long time, Death," He said with a heavy sigh. "But my memories of her always got me through the day. I'm thankful for that. I just wish I could see her again. She can make the last of this pain go away."

"I agreed, little Spartan. Have faith. You will see her again."

Jun sat the holo-still down on his desk once again. "I would love to see her reaction when she meets you. It'll be hilarious."

Death was ever so offended by that. "Am I that repulsive, Jun? Do not start hurting my feelings now. I just might make the decision to never speak to you again." He folded his arms across his chest.

Jun had his smirk on now. "You'd never do that. You love me too much."

"Damn. Do I make it very obvious?"

A hearty laugh left the former Spartan-III. "You ready to go?"

"Let us leave, then."

"Alright." Jun walked over to the AI console and pulled out a little chip from it, only to insert it into a slot in a bracelet on his left wrist. Death appeared in a fog of sage-green and sat comfortably on his carrier's shoulder. Together, they left to explore the city of Cleveland on this Christmas day.


	3. Found

**Location: Rooftops of AMBER Base  
******Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
7th July, 2543  
10:59pm****

"Is Emile still raging?"

"You know he loves his baby girl."

Celestina-A178 shook her head at that, giggling to herself. She leaned against the solid railing of the rooftops of AMBER Base, her body facing her best friend of 13 years. "And _I _love his nickname for me."

"What, you're saying it's better than mine?"

"Don't be silly, Jun!" The giggling continued. "'Princess' is a thoughtful nickname. It'll always been one of my favorites."

"Oh yeah?" Jun walked up to her, joining her at the solid railing. "What will it take to become your all-time favorite nickname?"

_I don't know. Maybe by telling me that you feel the same way about me as I do about you? _"I can think of a couple of things..."

"I'll bet," That was followed by a chuckle, and then by a 3-second silence. "Emile just hates that Team Phantom is going to be down a member and that member is you, Celest."

"But it's only for a short while though," She said. "It's just a small operation with Yuri. I'll be back before he knows it."

"He'll come around. He's just being a big baby."

"I know, right?"

The two shared a hearty laugh at that. Beaumontia's gorgeous moon hung over them and Jun just loved the way it sparkled in her soft hazel eyes. "Look, I know it's just a little operation, princess, but I want you to take good care of yourself. Tell Yuri that if he doesn't look out for you, then I'll unload a sniper round into his ass."

Celestina raised her hands up in front of him. "Whoaaaaa, watch out! We got a badass over here!"

"I'm serious, silly girl."

"Jun," She dragged in a playful manner. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure of it. We will complete the mission and I will be back in your strong arms before you know it." She reached forward and squeezed both of his biceps to further illustrate her point.

"So does that mean I don't get a hug right now?" He questioned just like a little child.

"Aw! How _can _I resist this face?"

That was more than enough for the male Spartan. Celestina wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist, trying to hold her as close as possible. It almost felt like the first time they shared a hug, back when they were 6 years old, going on 7, and he knew how frightened and traumatized little Celestina was. Hugs between them were practically tradition now.

"I know you're a little scared. Just remember that I believe in you," He then said softly. "Nothing's gonna happen to Yuri either. It _will _be okay."

That definitely made the corners of her lips rise. "Thanks, sweetie. You're the best! I love you."

_How I wish you meant it._ "D'aw. Love you too, princess." He said as they pulled back.

Celestina's heart skipped a beat. _How I wish you meant it. _How do I tell him? It's impossible. We're not allowed to be... That's the least of my worries. If I tell him, what if it destroys what we have? I don't want that. I'll just die. Yet, if I try...__ "No, Jun. A-as in... As in I..." Her voice was stammering with so much nervousness.

_As in what? What's she trying to say? Is-is it...? _"As in you...?" He left that sentence open for her to complete.

"As in I love you for being the best friend a girl can have!" _Goddamn it, I can't... _

However, Jun was _not _having that. Something in his gut told him that Celestina was driving towards the _other _thing - the thing he had wanted to say the most. "Celest, don't get me wrong but... but I feel that you're trying to tell me... _something _else."

_Shit_. "Well... what _do _you think it is?" She attempted to put up a confident front.

"I think it's something more than what you're telling me. Just tell me, please."

She was wondering how the hell could he _not _hear her beating heart. _She _could hear it thumping in her head. "I love you, and I don't mean it in the way I mentioned earlier."

It took an insane amount of discipline not to pick her up and kiss her right then and there.

Jun was going to say something when Celestina added the next few words: "Ever since we've met, you've being doing everything you can to make me happy, to keep me safe. To keep me from blowing my own brains out when I couldn't take the nightmares from what happened on Convergence V. I guess that I... I love you for the fact that you take such good care of me. Like I was family."

He grinned at her, trying to hold back his laughter. "Good to know. Because I feel the same way."

"Y-you feel th-" The words were caught in her windpipe and they had no intention of coming out. She just stared at him with her big eyes, shocked out of her mind.

Her expression was causing him to lose it. "Celest, come on! This is supposed to be a serious conversation!"

"You took me by surprise!" She chided, slapping him on the chest.

"Ow!" He grunted, shielding his chest from her. "Well, I'm _sorry__. _I guess I should have been more forthcoming with my feelings!"

"You should! I got lucky!"

"I don't know, princess," Gaining major confidence, he closed the gap between them, swathing his arms around her. "By the looks of this, I'd say _I'm _the lucky one."

His action prompted her to put her arms around his neck casually. "That is so sweet of you to say, Jun."

They stayed like that, in pure bliss, with neither of them saying anything just for a short second because they were taking the time to grin and giggle at their situation. Both of them couldn't be happier.

Jun's voice dropped to a whisper. "Say it again, Celest."

"Say what again?" She asked in a teasing voice.

"You know what."

"I'd much rather show you." She said as the fingers on her right hand trailed over the tattoo of a fistful of arrows on the left side of his face.

"Well then, what's stopping you, princess?"

Nothing was stopping her, nothing at all. So she leaned in to press her lips against his for the first time and it felt like the best feeling in the world.

* * *

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base, Mars  
December 25th, 2552  
9:48pm**

"Jun?"

That same night, the former NOBLE Team member was sitting comfortably on his office's leather sofa, ever so engrossed in his data pad as he was looking through his potential recruits. "Yes, Death?"

"As today _is _Christmas and it is our first Christmas ever, I thought it was only right to give you a present," The AI console had beamed to life and Death stood right in the center of the cylindrical vertical console.

That elicited a smile from Jun. "Aw, Death. You didn't have to. Hell, I didn't get you anything!"

"You did not have to and you never have to," He said. "Because you have already given me the greatest gift of all and that is the gift of life."

That statement warmed the sniper's heart immensely. He almost didn't have a reply to that. But he managed with, "That is so sweet of you to say, Death."

"I think of the most perfect things to make you blush, do I not?" Jun felt a smirk coming from the faceless AI.

"What, you're hitting on me, now?"

"Do not be ridiculous! You are not my type!"

Jun's forehead connected with the arm of the leather sofa as he tried to hold back his laughter. What a comeback.

Death also let go of a dark chuckle. "Come, Jun. Eyes front. My gift will be on display."

So Death activated his special ability to appear life-sized and brought up a large holographic blue screen in front of his carrier. The words "UNSC" appeared on the top left of it. What Death had brought up was a profile on someone. A profile picture then appeared - she had soft hazel eyes, shoulder length deep red hair that was parted down the middle, and her skin was just slightly tanned.

If Jun hadn't been sitting on the sofa, his data pad would have landed on the floor instead.

"Death..."

"Celestina Jenette Devon. Former Spartan-III of Alpha Company. According to the records, Lady Celestina resides in the military base entitled _Starwave,_ right here on Mars as the head trainer there. She had been discharged from the Spartan-III program in 2549 after having been diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder," Death then turned his faceless self to the gawking Jun. "It is to be noted that she has been completely cured from the disorder."

Jun managed to get to his feet and stood in front of the holographic screen. His eyes ran all over it - her biographical and military information, reports from psychological evaluations and notes... this was her entire profile, right in front of his eyes.

"Death...? Just exactly what kind of protocols did you break for this? And _why_?"

If Death could, he would be smiling right now. "You have been staring at a holo-still of her for 4 months now. I think it is time to actually communicate with her. We have her location now so it should not be a problem whatsoever. And as for breaking any protocols..." He moved away from the screen and to his carrier instead. "I would have done this for you sooner but I was still learning. As I learned, I also learned how to be as stealthy as you were. I was in and out of ONI's database instantly. After all, it is easy to find someone in the Spartan program with the name 'Celestina'."

"I... can't believe you actually found her," He turned to his AI. "Death, this is amazing!_ You're_ amazing!"

"If Lady Celestina is the key to your happiness, Jun, then I will do whatever it takes. You are my little Spartan and there is nothing I would not do for you."

"Well trust me, buddy," Jun sat a hand on Death's shoulder and squeezed, just before turning his head back to the holographic screen. "I'm gonna be happy for a very, _very _long time."


	4. Believe

**Location: Nearby the base of the Beaumontia Rebel Association  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
14th March, 2546  
11:02pm  
**

"It's a beautiful night tonight. Too bad we're stuck out here at this Innie base,"

"I think we can make this just as fun, baby girl,"

"Remember we only allowed to _subdue _them, Emile," Celestina said in her distinctive sweet tone. "Don't go nuts on me now,"

"Good luck with that."

"Shut up, Jun!" Emile shot back, jerking his head to his right.

"Come on, boys!" She whined. "We got a job to do. Those rebels have stolen UNSC weapons in that dinky little base of theirs. _We _have to steal them back. So," she glanced to her right and then her left. "How shall we do this, my darlings?"

"I've already scouted the area," Jun then spoke, keeping his gaze on the base below them. "There are 2 sets of guards and they change every 20 minutes. One guard at each side of the base."

Emile then asked, "And when we get inside?"

"We wreak havoc."

They liked the sound of that. "Rock, paper, scissors? Loser has to stay up here and be jealous that the other two are having fun."

"You're on." Jun said.

"I'm feeling lucky anyways," Celestina added. "Ready? 1, 2, 3!"

"Goddamn it..."

"Sorry, Jun!" She apologized playfully, handing him her Sniper Rifle. "Keep a look out for us and we'll yell for you once we've secured the base."

"Alright. You two be careful now," He told them as he attached Celestina's Sniper Rifle to his back.

Emile let go of a dark chuckle at that. "I think it's the Innies that need to be careful."

On this intensely quiet night, it was Team Phantom's mission to retrieve a stolen batch of UNSC weapons from a tiny base belonging to the Beaumontia Rebel Association. What confused the team was how small this base was for an association - unless it wasn't the headquarters, or the association was not as huge as they originally thought. Not a lot was known about the rebel group, but Phantom was about to find out.

* * *

"Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, DMRs, Assault Rifles... you guys have everything!" Emile commented, pulling out one Shotgun from a locker and inspecting it.

Only 4 Insurrectionists were left alive in this tiny base and they were _not _in a talking mood. They were on the ground, their backs against the wall and their heads hung low.

"I'm curious," Jun said thoughtfully. "How did you people even get your hands on these weapons? Raided another base? Took down a Pelican?"

Not a single reaction of any of them.

"Someone on the inside?"

Like clockwork, all of them glanced up at the sage-colored Spartan.

"That's all we needed."

"Sit tight, boys," Celestina folded her arms across her chest. "UNSC personnel will be here shortly to take you all into custody. Don't worry about your friends - we didn't kill them. They're just... seemed a little grumpy so they're taking a nap."

"Not you guys though," Emile dumped that Shotgun back into the locker and took a few intimidating steps towards them, the skull craved into his helmet doing all the talking. "Oh no, no. It'll be a while before those UNSC guys show up," He took a seat next to Jun. "How about we all have a nice little conversation about what's going on here?"

"This place is _way _too small and has _way _too little people to be the headquarters of the Beaumontia Rebel Association. So where's your main base? If you tell me that this _is _the main base, be prepared for some ugly laughter coming from me." Celestina said.

"Like we're telling you freaks anything!" One of the 4 suddenly spat out.

"I believe the lady asked you _nicely_, pal," Emile looked right at him.

"It's alright," She waved it off. "None of our business anyways. We've done our jobs. So let's just play the waiting game."

* * *

**Location: Dorms, AMBER Base  
16th March  
8:41pm**

"This is BULLSHIT."

"Yeah, I don't think there's any other way to put it..."

"Why do we have to _break up_?!" Emile's outburst would very well be heard all over the base. "We've been Team Phantom for _years_. What did we do to deserve a break up?!"

Celestina sat on her bed, her thumbs twiddling. "Hey, if they think our talents will be better suited with other teams, then let it be. I just... didn't think it'll end so soon."

Emile stood in front of his two friends, hands on his hips, highly annoyed. "Come on, baby girl, you can't be happy about this."

She bit her lower lip for a good 2 seconds before saying, "No. If anything, I'm as pissed as you are," She got to her feet and grabbed his arm like a child would to their parent. "But we had a great run as Team Phantom, Emile. Now we're on to bigger things. It'll be okay."

"I don't feel right about this too but she's right, Emile," Jun said as he got up as well. "We had a great time as a team. All good things come to an end eventually, I guess..." He turned his head to Celestina. "So where are you going to?"

"Oh," She searched for the piece of paper on her bed and picked it up. "I'm paired with Nick. Remember him?"

"Aw yeah - he has a thing for explosives."

"What about you, Emile?" She asked.

"Uh..." He spun around to grab is own paper that he had left on the little table they had in their room. "Noble Team. Oh and it's led by Carter."

"Oh! The handsome one!"

The boys looked at her.

"What? He _is _sorta attractive, you know,"

"What about you, man?" Emile asked, changing the subject.

"Shadow Team. It's led by the twins - Ryan and Rhonda,"

"Well," Celestina placed one hand on her hip. "Seems like we're all going to be in good hands," She titled her head at the irritated Emile and sat one hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Emile. There's always letters and video calls!"

The Assault specialist was just not happy at all. He folded his arms across his massive chest and huffed in great annoyance. "I'll miss you guys. We've been through a lot."

"Aw..." Celestina pulled his arms away so she could give him a big loving hug. "I love you too, my precious little psycho!"

"COME ON, BABY GIRL, YOU JUST MIGHT MAKE ME CRY!"

Jun could only shake his head, but smile.

* * *

**Location: Rooftops of AMBER Base**  
**11:37pm**

Celestina and Jun had agreed to meet on the rooftops of AMBER base later that night after lights were out. It wasn't like any of them were able to sleep anyways, what with the given news. Celestina was trying to remain optimistic about it all, however, she was the most broken one. She didn't want to have to leave her two teammates, the men who were basically her family. She had been with them ever since they became a team. So it was one of the most unfair things she had ever heard.

The silver stars were laid out on the black sky above her. She wanted to enjoy the sheer beauty of it all, but she couldn't. All she wanted was to stay.

"So Carter's the handsome one?"

A devilish smirk came to her as she spun around to face the person she had been in a relationship with for the last three years. "Why? Ya jealous?"

"Never said I was," Jun was practically pouting and had his arms folded across his chest. "As long you don't call him adorable, we're cool. Because that title is _mine_."

The little things he would say and do always put the brightest smile on Celestina's face. "Aw, I was just trying to make you jealous." She skipped over to him.

"Well, you're mean."

She placed her hands over his arms, in an attempt to pull his arms away from his chest. "I'm sorry?" She pulled her apologetic face.

Jun was only playing. They both were. It was their thing. His fighting smile turned into a full-blown grin. "You're silly." He lowered his arms and instead turned her around to envelope her in his arms so that they could both glance up at the sky together.

Celestina had never known a more safer place than his loving embrace. It also definitely made her heart sing the loudest. "I'm really gonna miss the both of you. I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"None of us do, princess, but an order's an order," He informed bitterly. "We can all still be in communication, though. Let's be thankful for that."

"It's not the same, though."

"I agree."

"It's not the same because I don't get moments like these anymore," Her tone was filled with melancholy and she could not help it. "I've always felt safe with you more than being in my own armor and that's the way it is. I've never cared if our relationship is 'non-Spartan' behavior. _You _complete _me_. Now that you're going to be far away... I don't know what going to happen to me."

That was when he pressed his cheek against hers in a comforting manner. "Celestina... nothing is going to happen to you. You're strong just the way you are, both physically and mentally. If you fall, it's only because you're _human_. You don't need me. You'll be fine on your own. You believe in yourself, don't you?"

She shut her eyes at the contact and opened them to answer his question. "As long _you _believe in me, Jun. It's all I need."

That was when Jun took her right arm and lifted it up so that they both could clearly see the six tattoos printed vertically just below her wrist, that say:

_Vigilance_  
_Strength_  
_Friendship_  
_Family_  
_Believe_  
_Love_

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 3 and 4 edited, as I've said! I hope you guys like the changes. :)**


	5. Breakdown

**Location: Hydra Base  
Cleveland, Ohio, Earth  
December 25th, 2552  
10:02pm**

"For the next 2 years, we kept in touch with letters and video calls and everything else under the sun, until she was transferred to Shadow Team after Nick's death," Leaning against his leather chair, Jun stared at the data pad in his hands, scrolling through the profile. "Losing him took a toll on her psyche. It would every time she lost someone."

"According to her doctors, she exhibits an unhealthy emotional attachment to the people around her,"

"Well, those doctors are full of shit, Death," He tossed the data pad onto his desk with noticeable annoyance. "There's nothing wrong in being human. We've all lost people, that's why we're here in the first place. We all have different ways of dealing with it. Some of us just need a little more help."

Death produced an unseen smile. "Which was what you provided Lady Celestina with from the moment the two of you meet."

Jun smiled to himself. "Like all of the others, I had lost everything. There was nothing left. My family raised me to be strong, Death, so I didn't want to fall apart now. When I saw Celestina and how traumatized she obviously was... I just felt that helping her out would help _me_ out too. And I'm glad I did. She's a sweet girl. Being a Spartan was never supposed to be in her future." Heaving a heavy sigh, he leaned forward and rested his head on his hand. "I just don't understand how her growing disorder could have been overlooked."

Death shrugged his shoulders at that. "Perhaps she did a good job of concealing it. Or perhaps… being with you, she was able to heal."

* * *

_"It's my fault. I could've saved him…"_

_"Celestina… I've seen the playback footage. There was no possible way you could have saved him."_

_"Nick was my _partner_, doc! I was supposed to look out for him! And I let him down!"_

_"Celestina, do you remember the last words he said to you? He said, 'I got this, Celest. Save yourself. Forget about me.'. He didn't want to be saved, Celestina."_

_"Oh, that selfish bastard... leaving me alone like this... Doc, I... have a problem, but I'm guessing you already knew that."_

_"I'm curious as to what _you_ think your problem is, Celestina. Identifying it yourself is a great step to your recovery,"_

_"Well... I was 6 when the Covenant decided to invade my homeworld, Convergence V. My parents were going to be working late that day so it was only me and my two older siblings. Brutes broke down my front door, shot my older sister in the head, killing her instantly. Caden thought he shielded me from that sight but I'll never forget the blank look on Christine's face as she fell. Caden worked at our parents' gun range so he knew how to handle a gun. He dropped a couple of them before we ran upstairs and he hid me in a closet. He was going to hide with me too when a single Elite came outta nowhere and attacked him. He managed to draw it away from me, not before yelling at me to stay hidden and that he loved me. Next thing I knew? I was being recused by the UNSC and I was told that not only Caden, but my parents were gone too. This wasn't the future that I wanted, doc. I never wanted this."_

_"To be a Spartan?"_

_"We were just kids. We all were broken and fragile. Of course we wanted revenge on the Covenant. But none of us knew what that truly meant at that time. We were kids after all. To reply to your statement, doc, I know_ exactly _what my problem is: I can't stand to lose people. It drives a knife through my heart. I was left alone when my family was killed. I was left alone when Yuri was killed. I was left alone with Nick was killed. I hate it when people around me, people I know, people I _grew up _with are leaving me. I overthink, and then I breakdown. The thought that I'll never see them again... the thought that I could've done something... All of these thoughts come together and attack me and that's when... that's when I feel like I'm about to lose it. I just...don't want to lose anymore people." _


	6. Shadow Team

**Halo – "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**13****th ****April, 2548  
9:38pm**

"Hey."

"Hey, princess. How are you feeling today?"

She shifted a little in her seat. "I know I'm supposed to feel differently now that it's been a month but… not… really…"

"No one's forcing you to feel differently, Celest. Take your time."

"But I can't feel sorry for myself forever now, can I?"

He held his small smile for her. "No. No, you can't. But you can't rush, either. You need to take it slow."

Celestina sighed heavily, but still produced a smile. "How I wish I could be with you right now. You can make the last of this pain go away."

She watched him on her holographic screen as he chuckled amiably at her. "Yes, well, if I was there right now, I would hug you until you couldn't breathe, Celest. These last 2 years have been hard."

"I can't imagine anything more worse than losing _you_, honey. For whatever reason, I don't want you to go," She said, her innocent eyes glistening at that.

Jun smirked this time. "Well then," He playfully placed his hand over his heart and declared, "I promise you, Celestina Jenette Devon, that I will do whatever it takes to survive all just to stay by your side."

That certainly made the female Sniper laugh. "That's so sweet! You always know what to say."

"Call it a gift,"

Her hazel eyes softened. "I call it 'taking care of your girlfriend'."

"Sure, we can call it that too." After they shared a little laugh, Jun then said, "Remember, Celest, if we can't do video call, you can always look at the last two tattoos on your arm."

As soon as he said that, she rolled up her long sleeve and eyed the words printed in green vertically on her forearm. They read 'Vigilance', 'Strength', 'Friendship', 'Believe' and finally, 'Love'. "Believe…" And then she glanced up at him. "Love. Because no matter what, you're always going to believe in me and love me."

* * *

**Location: Break Room, AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
October 30****th****, 2548  
2:12pm**

"So today we're getting our new girl, right? Who is it, Ryan? I think we've been kept in suspense for too long."

"So impatient, Rhon. As always."

"Hey, I'm excited. Can't blame a girl. So who is she?"

"Well," Taking a relaxing seat on the leather sofa of the base's break room, the team leader opened up the folder in his hands. "You might remember her from whooping your butt at King of the Hill once. Celestina."

"Say what?!"

The twins turned their head to the source of the outburst. Jun produced a smile and added. "It's just been a while since I've seen her and… she never told me she was joining Shadow…"

"Oh," Ryan shut the folder. "Looks like it was meant to be a surprise. Anyway, you two were close as kids, right?"

"Yeah, like _super _close," Rhonda raised her eyes suggestively, arms folded across her chest.

"Don't go there, Rhonda," Jun lifted one finger, unable to contain his smile.

"Come on! As far as I could tell, you two were never apart. Even more so when you two were a team and part of Team Phantom!"

"So she's my best friend. That a crime?" He turned to Ryan. "Boss, help me out here."

"I've… got my suspicions too, Jun. Sorry."

"Alright, I'm outta here. You two are unbelievable." So declaring, he left the break room in an instant, in an attempt to hide the red in his cheeks. He let go of a breath. _That was close_.

_Beep beep! _

The beeps from a warthog coming from outside of the base grabbed his attention. Not wanting to return to the break room and face his Commander and Lieutenant Commander with a flushed face, he decided to fuel his curiosity. It was probably nothing, but hey, who cares?

He made his way out of the base and was greeted with its busy exterior: the pelicans flying overhead, the warthogs getting loaded up… just another day at AMBER base as they tried to take down the Beaumontia Rebel Association that had grown over the last two years.

To his left, he witnessed the passenger of the warthog alighting, thanking the marine driver and then made her way to the entrance of the base, right where Jun was standing. She had only taken about 5 steps before noticing that the Spartan was standing near the entrance.

She stood rooted to the ground with her deep red hair, hazel eyes, blank tank top, leather jacket and duffel bag slung over her shoulders, but also with a beaming smile across her face. He returned one.

She jogged over to him, seemingly ready to jump into his arms but was unable to due to the large presence outside of the base. Instead, she stopped in front of him, let her duffel bag drop onto the floor and with no words whatsoever, wrapped her arms around his neck.

He held her close, unable to believe that Celestina was right here, in his arms, after 2 years. And the feeling was fantastic. "Hey there, princess. This is one hell of a surprise!"

"Which is why I didn't tell you!" She giggled. "And just how is my sniper with the sexy accent?"

"You think my accent is sexy?" He questioned as he pulled back.

"Drives me nuts every time. Drove me even more nuts after you told me you loved me," She confessed, biting on her lower lip.

"Thanks for the info, princess."

"Yeah, probably shouldn't have mentioned that..."

"Too bad," He told her with a cheeky smile. "Come on," He picked up her duffel bag effortlessly. "Let's go find the twins."

"No need,"

"Cause we're here!"

"Of course the two of you are…" Jun murmured.

"Quite the gentleman, aren't you, Jun?" Rhonda smirked, pointing to the duffel bag.

"Hey, I'm _always _a gentleman. It's attractive."

_Oh hell yeah, _Celestina thought to herself. "It's been a really long time, hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has, Celestina," Ryan held out his hand.

Rhonda then held out hers. "Thanks for kicking my ass at King of the Hill,"

"You're welcome, boss lady."

Rhonda could only laugh at that. "Welcome to Shadow Team."


	7. Settling In

**Location: Dorms, AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
October 30th, 2548  
2:30pm**

"AMBER Base is just the way it used to be, Celest, so I don't think you need any introductions. I'll help you get settled in. After that, we're meeting the twins for a little chat session,"

"Family gathering, so to speak?"

"You could say that. They're good kids. They will be easy on us, so don't worry. Here we are," The single door slid to an open and he led her in."You're bunking with me."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're kidding me."

With her duffel bag still slung over his broad shoulder, he turned to her and smiled warmly. "Nope."

"So... we get to make up for lost time?"

He lightly shrugged his shoulders at that. "Perhaps."

Without a word, Celestina leaned in leisurely and captured his lips. When she pulled back, she smiled at him as innocently as she possibly could.

"It's been 2 years, Celest... you easily owe me a few hundred more,"

"Oh yeah?! And what about _you_?!"

Jun plopped her duffel bag onto her bed casually. "Come _on. _I thought I made it clear that night that my specialty was hugging you from behind and kissing you on the cheek!"

She pulled the 'Alright-I'm-done' face and spun around for the door. "I'm going to see the twins." And that was when she felt those strong arms wrap around her midsection, as well as a tender peck on her left cheek. She giggled harmoniously, unable to contain herself. He had done it again. "You little devil!" She said in between more giggles. "Don't ever change!"

"Good. _Now _we can go see the twins."

* * *

**Location: Break Room  
**

"Okay, okay, you two. Favorite memory."

Jun and Celestina changed a look at that. "We have lots of memories," Celestina said. "But I'd go with the time where, when we were a team, we had to capture this small Covenant base on Maker. And a round from a Needler Rifle had broken through my shields. He jumps in front of me like a knight in MJOLNIR armor and takes a round for me!" Happily declaring, she reached over and cupped his chin lovingly.

"What can I say? I'm a knight, she's a damsel in distress... you know the drill."

"Smartass!" She giggled.

Ryan chuckled at that. "I think it's amazing that you two have a relationship as solid as the one you have."

"Yeah well, everyone needs someone looking after them, right?" Celestina glanced to her right where Jun was. "I've got my knight right here. I'm sure the same with you two. I mean, you're twins after all. I bet you two must have been looking after each other since before you two were born."

"You know, I'd like to think that," Rhonda said as she playfully punched her younger-by-9-minutes brother on the upper arm. "After all, without me, he'll fall apart.

"I'm not _that _helpless, Rhonda!"

And Shadow Team shared a hearty laugh. Celestina opened the next statement with, "You know, boss and boss lady, as much as this is nice, I have to ask... don't we have an Innie association to take down?"

"I know what you mean, Celestina," Ryan replied. "There has been minimal activity at the moment. Like everything's gone dark. We're still unable to locate Jamie Oliver after he last slipped through our grasp."

"After he... you know..." Rhonda simply stated, looking down at her glass.

"I know, Rhonda. I heard that Sally went down fighting. Like a Spartan."

"Then you know that we owe it to her take this organization down," Jun said.

"Agreed," Ryan said, raising his glass in the air. "For Sally."


	8. Back In The Game

**Halo – "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Nearby a base of the Beaumontia Rebel Association  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
November 3rd, 2548  
10:57pm**

"Just like old times. I really missed working with you, Jun."

"Same here, princess. But to me, it kinda feels like it was just yesterday when you, me and Emile raided that base."

She turned her head at him. "Yeah... kinda does, doesn't it?" Heaving a little sigh, she returned her attention to the 1-storyed base below her. "So this is it, eh?"

"Yep. Valentine identified it as one of their more 'superior' bases. Oliver's either in there or there's something in there to tell us where he is. Val, be a dear and give us a sitrep, won't you?"

The Smart AI got onto their team's COM channel instantly. "Certainly! I have identified 25 hostiles in total. There is a _slight _chance that we'll have something that tells us where Oliver is. Shadow One and Two will be on stand-by just in case, but I have faith in the two of you!" She said joyfully in her thick English accent. "Do what you do best, children. Oh, and Celestina – welcome to Shadow Team once again."

A smile immediately came to Celestina, despite her SCOUT helmet blocking it. "Thanks, Valentine! See you when we get back."

"You nervous?" He asked in a playful tone.

"Say what? Come on, Jun. This is nothing. We're just gonna go in there and do what we always do. I mean…" Then there was a slight detection of uncertainty in her voice. "This _may _be my first mission after all that therapy, but still!"

"I was just being silly as usual, princess. I wouldn't worry about you and you shouldn't worry about you. You're going to be fine," He sat one hand on her shoulder. "I believe in you and always will."

She nodded her appreciation. "Loser becomes the rabbit?" She asked, lifting up her fist.

Behind his Scout helmet, he produced a little smile. "No need, princess. You take the base. I'll be the rabbit."

"Really?"

"Consider it an early birthday present, perhaps?"

She chuckled at that. "You're a doll. Alright then. Watch yourself, sweetie."

"Always."

As soon as he turned away from her, the little smile she had disappeared. She was always the one worrying about anything and everything, and that included the man who had been taking care of her since the day they met. So when he offered to be the "rabbit", to be the distraction for the guards on the exterior of the base so that she could gain access via the rooftop, she was concerned.

She then heard a grenade go off from a distance, enough to grab the attention of the guards outside of the base, as well as her own attention. Those guards left their positions and met up, taking a slow and careful pace to the direction of where that explosion came from.

_"Over there! Get the Spartan!"_

She gasped softly. _Jun?_

"Looks like I've got trouble. Now's your chance, Celest! Get in there and raise hell!" He said over their private COM channel.

_Please look out for yourself. _"I'm going!"

* * *

Successfully making her way to the rooftop, Celestina observed the action going on below one of the windows. In the armory, rebels were running up and down in almost what looked like hysteria, complaining about the explosion and the 'damned Spartans'.

_Shit. They were expecting us. This is gonna be a little more difficult. Gotta look out for any traps._

She moved on to another window, accompanied with a fire escape, which displayed the surveillance room. _Jackpot_. There was no one in the surveillance room at the moment, so this was the best time to get in. She used opened up the fire escape door and climbed down hurriedly, expecting the next guard or guards to walk in. She clung to the wall next to the doorway to wait for the rebels.

Her motion tracker showed two of them heading this way. The door slid open, she held her breath, they both walked in together and she stuck her foot out for them to trip on.

They both fell on top of each other, morbidly confused. She pulled one up to his feet and punched him in the face as hard as she could. The other tried to scurry away and draw his weapon but she got his arm, kneed him in the stomach and delivered one elbow to the back of his head.

She was glad that the door was opaque. She dragged their bodies away from the door and took a few seconds to expect more trouble, but there wasn't any moving on her motion tracker. Satisfied, she moved to the console below the dozen monitors. She typed in the override codes as quickly as she could and a smile crossed her face when the monitors went offline.

Time to raise hell and find out if there was anything that could point to Jamie Oliver's location.

* * *

"Get the Spar-"

Celestina flung her one of her two combat knives at the rebel who was standing at the back of the room, silencing him. The remaining three Innies were taken out by her Magnums. All was quiet now. Rebels were all over the place on her motion tracker, some of them even getting out of range. That didn't make sense to her at all.

She left the break room and hurried to the armory. Along the way, Jun got in contact with her and she could clearly hear the gunfire and yelling in the background. She knew he was giving them all hell. "Celest!"

"Talk to me, sweetie. What's up?"

"I'm heading back to the base. But from where I'm standing, you've got some of them taking off."

"What? Are they _that _frightened of me? But I'm so cute and cuddly!"

As he caught his breath, he couldn't stop that chuckle from coming to him. "No doubt you are, princess, but this spells trouble. I'm going to try to stop them, but you need to be careful."

"I hear ya. You too."

With a hard kick, she broke down the door to the armory, where there wasn't a single soul. Weapon lockers and caches were opened up and some weapons were just lying around - as if the Innies were trying to grab everything they could and bolt.

Something was certainly not right.

It was then her ears picked up a soft bleeping noise. It sounded like it was coming from one of the unopened lockers. With very little effort, she opened the locker door… and froze.

"Oh FUCK," Immediately, she took off. "Jun, get the HELL away from the base!"

"Caught an Innie trying to escape in a Warthog, so I'm a great deal away. What's wrong?" Jun questioned, holding that last Innie in a headlock.

"BOMB!"

He dropped the rebel instantly. "Celest-"

He was thrown to the ground from the impact of the explosion. The base went up in flames just before he could finish his sentence.

Something inside him died at that moment. "No! Celest!"

There was nothing on their COM channel.

He watched with horror as the base continued to burn. "Celestina!"

"I'm here!" He turned his head to the direction of that voice. Celestina came jogging, working her way around the base and to her partner. "Jumped out of the nearest window and used armor lock! _Shit_, I almost became barbeque! Let's never do that aga-oh!"

She was taken aback when he scooped her up in his arms as soon as she got to him. Mustering a little laugh, she patted his back in an assuring manner. "I'm okay, sweetie! It was just quick thinking and little bit of luck, that's all!"

He didn't say a damn thing. He just continued to hold her close to him.

* * *

**A/N: Words cannot express how sorry I am for taking such a long time to update. :(  
**

**But the next chapter is going to make up for it, I promise! Stay tuned!**


	9. Family

**Halo ****–**** "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Trainer's Room, AMBER BaseBeaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
November 4th, 2548  
1:12am**

"The bomb looked homemade, boss."

"Homemade? No wonder it didn't show up on our scanners. You got lucky back there, Celest."

Celestina pulled a repulsed face while she was sitting on the bed. "Tell me about it. I would've been all over the place!"

Jun was leaning against the wall next to Celestina, his arms folded across his chest. He almost flinched at that sentence.

"Well, the bad news is that the base's been destroyed. Highly unlikely we'll get any info outta there now." Rhonda grumbled, running one hand through her chin-length light brown hair.

"Something else will pop up. But we'll have to be extra careful," Ryan crooked his head to Celestina. "Today they were expecting us and that almost got Celest killed."

"We'll need a new plan for next time, then." The newest member said.

"Next time. But right now, we relax," It was then Ryan produced a smile at Celestina. "Somebody has a BIG day tomorrow…!" He said in sing-song.

Celestina giggled immediately. "I'm hoping that there will be cake tomorrow…?" She address the team, raising her eyebrows cheekily.

"Who knows?" Rhonda grinned. "Get some rest, Celest. We'll see you in the morning."

"Night, boss. Boss lady!" She waved like a little child.

As soon as their commanding officers left the trainer's room, Jun pushed himself off the wall to meet Celestina, where he gave her his hand so she could get off the bed. She smiled sweetly at him and accepted his hand.

He then went to retrieve her hoodie jacket that was lying at the end of the bed. As she adjusted her black tank top, she addressed him. "You haven't spoken a word since we got back. What's wrong?"

"Hm? Nothing's wrong, princess." He enveloped her with her jacket and instantly wrapped his arms around her waist. Without a word, he placed a soft peck on her cheek.

She was beaming. She snaked one hand up to caress his cheek. "You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," He pulled away and she locked her hazel eyes with his blue ones. "Because I'm okay, you know. You don't have to worry anymore."

It took everything to muster that smile. "I know, Celest."

* * *

**Location: Dorms  
November 5****th  
10:24pm**

"I hope you had a great time, Celest. I know I di-"

Celestina was holding a data pad when Jun walked into their shared room. The reason why he was rendered silent was because the data pad she was holding was his. And he knew exactly what he had been last viewing.

"I caught you reading it last night after lights were out, with such a gloomy look on your face," She began. "I told myself I wasn't going to pry but you refused to tell me what was on your mind," She lifted the data pad up. "And now I know why."

Part of him should have felt a little betrayed for her invading his privacy like that, but the thing about their relationship was that they never had secrets between each other. They would share anything and everything. So Jun could understand if she needed answers to his current behavior. "Well congratulations, Celest. You've found out that I'm a mess."

"I just don't understand why you would keep something like this from me," She spoke in her soothing tone as she sat the data pad down on the bed and got to her feet. "I thought we had that kind of a relationship since we were both 6 – that we could tell each other anything, anything at all. Why won't you talk to me? I may not solve it but… I can try!" She stepped forward to take his hands into hers and pull him towards her, further into the room. "This relationship isn't one-sided, you know. You can be there for me all the time and listen to all of my bullshit but I can't do the same for you? My knight in MJOLNIR armor?" She ran one hand past his cheek to persuade him to look at her. "Jun, sweetie, I wanna help you. What's going on?"

He responded to her touch and looked at her straight in the eyes. "What's there to say, Celest?" Jun turned his back to her and instead sat on the edge of his own bed. "You read the psych eval. Sally's death was my fault. I should've seen the sniper… She hit the ground before I knew what even happened."

Celestina had been there before. So many times. And as always, Jun would be there for her, comforting her, advising her. Looks like it was her turn now. She slid her hands into the pockets of her hoodie jacket. "Yes, I've seen the psych eval. That means that I know that Sally's death was out of your hands," She settled down next to him; his gaze was fixed at his twiddling thumbs. "Remember you used to tell me that? That saving someone sometimes just isn't within our reach?"

"So that's supposed to make me feel better about you nearly getting blown up?"

Realization hit her right then. "I knew this was also about 2 days ago… Jun," She wrapped her hands around his arm. "What's the point if you don't practice what you preach? You think Sally would want you to be this way?"

He placed one hand over hers and sighed heavily. "It's... not the first time, okay?" He confessed. "I just don't talk about it and bury it."

"That isn't good for you."

"There are those moments where I talk to you. But most of the time, I don't."

Her hazel eyes softened at that and she furrowed her eyebrows. "But why?"

"Because I'm helping _you_," And he finally looked at her right in the eyes. "A reason why I can bury it is because I distract myself by helping the most important person in my life. And it's been working ever since we first met. By helping you, in some way... I help myself. Makes it easier for me. Don't know if that makes sense or not but yeah."

"I get it. Really, I do. Given what we've all been through, we all have different ways to deal with our grief," She said. "I'm glad that in a way, I help you. You're the most important person in _my _life."

They shared a little smile and she leaned over to give him lasting kiss on his cheek. "No matter what, I'm always gonna be here for you," She then set her head on his shoulder. "You do so much for me. I will help you in any way I can. It's what you do for family."

"Thanks. And happy birthday once again, princess." Wishing her with all his heart, he placed one kiss on her head.


	10. Hope Relay

**Halo ****–**** "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base, Mars  
December 29****th****, 2552  
4:27pm**

"You seem conflicted,"

"That's because I _am _conflicted..."

"What is the matter, Jun?"

The former Spartan-III heaved a big sigh as he leaned against his leather chair. "It's been 3 years since I last saw her. I didn't know how she was, where she was, if the PTSD got the best of her or if she was even still alive. I've been trying to write this letter to her, to tell her everything that's happened so far... but all I can get out is how much I've missed her." Jun let go of another sigh and leaned forward, looking at Death as he stood at his AI console. "This won't work. I need closure - I need to see her."

Death nodded, indicating he understood what his carrier meant. He held onto his scythe with both armored hands as he addressed Jun. "Well, I was just going to tell you this. It will definitely make you feel better. Joyful, in fact."

"I'm listening."

"I have found a second potential recruit for you. Edward Davis. He is currently stationed at Starwave Base."

Jun struggled to keep a stupid smile from forming on his face.

A smile could be sensed from the faceless AI. "Yes, yes, Jun. I know how much you love me. You do not have to repeat it."

"I must have done something really amazing once upon a time to deserve great family like you, Death."

"Thank you so much for the compliment, my little Spartan," He gave a little bow. "But we simply... 'lucked out'. When do we leave?"

* * *

**Location: Hope Relay, Outskirts of the town of Hope  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
January 3****rd****, 2549  
8:23am **

"Since when did we operate in the _daylight_? We're a sniper and infiltration team!"

"It wasn't like Shadow Team had something else to do, Celest. Oliver's still nowhere to be found so here we are."

"Great..." They stopped at their objective, after taking the long walk from where the Falcon had dropped them off. "Well, here's the relay - at least... what's left of it..."

Jun and Celestina, Shadow Three and Four, observed the demolished communications relay as its large satellite dish was in pieces on the ground in front of them. "Well... At least we know why the UNSC failed to connect with this relay station. It's been completely barbecued." He glanced up at the damaged base. "How is the rest of it still standing, though?"

Celestina kept the winced look on her face. "I think 'barbecued' is a polite way to put it, Jun. Damn..." She took the first steps towards the pieces. "The rebels put in a lot of effort to take it down."

"Maybe we should stop underestimating them." Jun said as he glanced around at their surroundings consisting of nothing but the relay in a large grassy area. The sun was burning high in the sky. The town of Hope was miles away from the communications relay.

Celestina continued to inspect the pieces in front of her. Her soft hazel eyes then widened. "Um... Jun?"

"Yes, princess?" He turned his head back to her.

"... This is plasma damage..."

"Oh shit."

She spun around to face him. "Hope. The UNSC needs to get those people out of that town!"

"Agreed. Hold on, I'll get Valen-" He was cut off by something in the corner of his eye. His motion tracker came up blank though.

Celestina's forehead creased with worry. "Jun? What's wrong?"

"We're not alone."

Immediately they stood back-to-back, with Jun clutching onto his sniper rifle and Celestina fishing out both magnums from their holsters. They tried their hardest to find the similar glossiness that came from the active camouflage of an Elite.

She snapped her head to the left and to the right over and over again. "Come out, you bitch!"

"Or bitches," Jun added, still eyeing his motion tracker. "What's the matter? Afraid of a couple of Sparta-"

Without a single warning, Celestina saw the energy sword flicker to life right in front of her.

* * *

**A/N: Here's a new chapter! ^.^  
**

**I could really appreciate some constructive critism in regards to the action and mission planning of this story. I'm trying my hardest, but I could use some helpful reviews as well! **


	11. Trouble

**Halo ****–**** "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Rooftops of AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
March 16****th****, 2544  
2:45pm**

"Imya."

"Im-ya...?"

"Imya."

"...Imya."

"Ha, you got it! Good work, Celest. Your pronunciation is getting better too."

Celestina giggled in sheer happiness over her improvement. "Your turn! In Italian, it's 'nome'."

"Nome."

"You're a natural!"

"Nah," Jun waved it off. "It's just easier in Italian."

"You got a point there. What's the next word?"

They were at the rooftops of AMBER base, the duo's favorite place to hang out. They sat on the ground in front of each other, engaging in their language lesson.

"Family. Sem'ya."

"Sem'ya."

Jun let another chuckle go. "Great work, princess!" And they both high-fived each other.

* * *

**Location: Hope Relay, Outskirts of the town of Hope  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
January 3****rd****, 2549  
8:23am **

Just as that energy sword revealed itself, Celestina reached up and kicked the Zealot square in the face. When it staggered backwards, she unloaded her two magnums into it, breaking through its shields and killing it.

Tossing aside his sniper rifle, Jun grabbed the sword arm of the oncoming Zealot and jerked it, causing the Elite to lose possession of the energy sword. Two punches to its face and it was seeing stars. Jun pulled out the combat knife from his right shoulder and stuck it into the Zealot's neck.

Silence surrounded them now. It was the two Spartan, the two dead Zealots and the destroyed Hope Relay. Nothing was moving on their motion trackers and nothing was moving around them.

"Are we clear?" Celestina asked.

"I wish I knew," Jun still eyed his surroundings as he picked up his sniper rifle and attached it to his back. "Son of a bitch. How did this _happen_?"

"Does it matter now? Top priority is warning the planet. We _can't _let another planet fall!"

"Then let's head back."

* * *

**Location: Trainer's Room, AMBER Base**

"Talk to us, boss. We get orders from Shadow Actual?" Celestina inquired as soon as Ryan entered the trainer's room.

"The UNSC is getting ready to warn the planet so as soon as that's done, Campbell wants us on evacuating civilians," The Commander replied, his data pad in hand. "The planet has 4 relay stations so we're evacuating the towns they are next to first, then we'll move to other towns. Rhonda, you're taking Azelia, I'm taking Greenwood, Jun's taking Radon and our dear newest member is taking Hope."

"Wait, we're splitting up?" Jun asked.

"Just for this mission. Since the relays are next to these towns, Command wants to take precautions. We'll be called back if we get a bigger threat. Get your stuff ready, Shadow. We're leaving to our respective locations in 2 hours."

* * *

**Location: Dorms**

"Are both your combat knives sharpened?"

"I think they're pretty decent. Yours?"

"They'll get the job done, princess," After a short pause, Jun sat down his two combat knives on their table and instead took her hands into his. "You take good care of yourself. You hear me?"

She gave him her sweetest smile at that and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "I will, Jun," She held him as close to her as possible. "Don't worry. I'm strong just the way I am, both mentally and physically. If I fall, it's only because I'm human. And you believe in me, right?"

Those words. They day they got together, he had spoken those words. That certainly lifted some of the heavy weight off his heart. "Always have, princess. I'll see you when we get back."

"Yeah," She didn't want to let him go that soon and he could sense that. So he let it be. "Love you."


	12. Invaded

**Halo - "Love at Long Range"**

* * *

**Location: Dorms, AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
November 7th, 2548  
2:30pm**

"So before you bit my head off, I'm _sorry _I couldn't call you on your birthday itself."

"When have you ever known me to get angry? Heck, even I don't know when was the last time I got angry!"

In the room they shared, Jun and Celestina sat in front of their holographic screen, currently on video call with Emile who was currently part of Noble Team. "Yeah, you got a point there. Happy belated birthday, baby girl! Hope you ate lots of cake."

An amiable laugh escaped her. "I wish I could have! How's everything over there?" She asked as she peered over Jun's shoulder.

"Same old, same old. Stopped another Innie operation without any problems. Guess your birthday brought some luck. We got back last night."

"Glad you to see you in one piece," Jun said. "How is the rest of the team?"

"The boss is still the boss, Kat is still grumpy-lookin', the big man is still bigger than all of us and Thom is still a moron. So yeah. Nothing's changed."

Celestina had her beaming smile on now. "And my precious little psycho is still my precious little psycho?"

"And _I _am going to throw up." Jun was met with a light slap to his head.

"You're just jealous!" She said.

"Nope, don't think I am."

The corner of Emile's mouth curved into a smile at that. "You two act like you've never grown up, you know that?"

Celestina wrapped her arms around Jun's neck at that, her cheek close to his. "We're just a couple of kids then, aren't we?"

"_Damn _right!" And the two high-fived each other.

* * *

**Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base  
Chicago, Illinois, Earth  
September 17th, 2552  
8:55am**

Celestina logged out of the system and the holographic screen disintegrated before her. She hung her head, struggling to keep her tears from falling, but to no avail.

Instead, she fell into her seat, feeling her heart shattering piece by piece. With whatever clearance she had, she looked through the Spartan program database, trying to find out what happened to her friends in Noble Team. She could not listen to rumors - she had to see it herself.

MIA. All of them. Including Emile.

And Jun.

Everybody knew what MIA meant when pertaining to the Spartans. So it looked like whatever she had heard, all of it was true.

Celestina shut her eyes tightly, lowered her head and began to sob.

* * *

**Location: Trainer's Room, AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
January 6th, 2549  
8:12pm**

"You're a dumbas, Rhon."

"Is _that _how you speak to your Lieutenant Commander, Celest?"

"I will if my Lieutenant Commander is going to be a _dumbass_!"

"Honestly, you sound like Ryan sometimes!"

"Well, since he's not here, I'll be glad to fulfill the role of the annoying concerned little brother," Celestina said humorlessly, crossing her arms over her chest. "What were you thinking, Rhonda? You shouldn't have taken on _3_ Elites by yourself!"

Rhonda sighed epically, rolling her eyes. She was leaning against the bed, arms across her chest. "Celest, all other personnel were busy with the evacuation. I had to save that aircraft! Civies were still boarding it! I'd expect a few scratches."

"... That wrist blade almost pierced your heart."

"... Okay, so I was a little off my game."

After Celestina had successfully evacuated the civilians from the town of Hope, she received orders to return to AMBER base to investigate suspicious activity near the base. When nothing turned up, she headed back to the base, only to be told about Rhonda's injury. Ryan and Jun had moved on to other towns.

Celestina had decided to lecture her Lieutenant Commander. "I'm sure Ryan will be very concerned,"

"_Concerned_? Try 'panicking'." And the ladies shared a laugh.

A distant explosion halted their laughter and they exchanged looks of uncertainty and confusion.

"What the hell was that?"

It was followed by a long wailing scream that tore through the night. The sirens.

"We're under attack?" Rhonda struggled to push herself off the bed frame.

_"All personnel: this is not a drill. Evacuate the base immediately. Repeat: this is not a drill."_

"Oh fuck!" Celestina shot up from the chair to help Rhonda get off the bed. "Could be the Covenant. We gotta move, boss!"

"You don't have to tell me twice! We need to get everyone out of here!"

"Says you!" Celestina exclaimed as they exited the trainer's room. "You're leaving the base. I can take care of whatever's going on."

"Excuse _me_?" Rhonda sounded like she had been highly offended. "What makes you think I'm leaving the base?"

"You're injured, in case you haven't noticed! You're in no condition to fight!" Celestina was guiding her to the nearest exit so that her Lieutenant Commander could leave in a Warthog or Pelican that would be evacuating personnel.

Rhonda halted in her tracks, appalled. "Injured or not, I am _not _leaving my Lieutenant to fight alone! Let's go to our dorms and get our weapons."

"Rhonda-"

"We're a sniper team, Celest. I can assist you from a distance. But what I _won't _do is leave you alone."

Celestina grumbled her disapproval. "Fine. You're the boss, after all."

Rhonda smiled sweetly. "And you're my sister. I promise I'll be fine."


	13. Watching It Fall

****Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base  
Chicago, Illinois, Earth  
October 7th, 2552  
2:13pm  
****

"Come on! Talk to me! I'm _bored_! Celestinaaaaa, I know you can hear me. Stop trying to pretend that I'm not here. I _am _here, little kitten, and I'm not going anywhere. Hey. Earth to baby girl. You're breakin' my heart."

_"It's not real. It's not there. It can't hurt you because it's not real. Nothing it's saying is true because it's not real..."_

"... What's that, baby girl? You wanna say that a little louder for your precious little psycho, as you loved to call me?"

Celestina was on her leather sofa, putting all her focus into her datapad, wanting to plan tomorrow's sniper rifle training. However, it was proving to be a great challenge at the moment due to the major distraction sitting behind her desk, yelling at her.

"I'm not going to leave you alone, baby girl, until you answer me."

"SO IF I ACKNOWLEDGED YOU, YOU'LL LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE?!" And her datapad landed on the other side of the sofa as she got up.

"Emile" was taken aback at that outburst, almost falling out of Celestina's chair. "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Damn..."

"You're not Emile. Just go away!" She turned her back on him and folded her arms across her chest.

"What if I _don't _want to go away?" She heard him get up from the chair. "Come on, baby girl. Be honest. You don't _actually _want me to go, do you?" He questioned in a playful yet so cruel manner. "You miss me. You miss me so damn much. You want to tell me how much I meant to you, looking out for you like a bigger brother. But you can't."

Celestina shut her eyes tightly, her head slowly hanging.

"You had many chances. You could've told me at any time. But you can't now."

She was almost shaking with anger and regret, and he could see it. Although it didn't matter to him.

"Deal with it."

With much swiftness, Celestina drew her sidearm from its holster that was attached to her right hip. She spun around with it tightly in her grip and it was aimed at Emile, who was now standing right behind her. The gun was merely inches away from the center of his forehead.

And he was not to be intimidated. "Whoa now, baby girl-"

"Stop... calling me that..." Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes at this point. "_You _don't get to call me that. Only Emile gets to call me that! You're not Emile so shut the HELL up!"

Emile used to have this smirk that he'd give to his enemies before ending their lives. Now he was giving her that exact same one. He used one hand to lower her hand. "Calm down. You'll be on your way to the crazy ward if you start shooting at something that's not there."

_He... He's right... It's not real, so it's not there. Control yourself, Celest. _She lowered her hand completely and turned her head away.

"Go get some help or something okay, baby girl?" That one almost sounded sincere. She still refused to look at him, even as he walked past her.

When she knew he was no longer standing in front of her, she looked up and then looked around. She was all alone in her office, with her magnum in hand and yelling at nothing like a lunatic. _I've dealt with this before. I beat it and kept myself from losing my mind. _

_But how long more? I'm trying so hard. They just keep on coming..._

* * *

**Location: AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
January 6th, 2549  
8:41pm**

"Times like this, I wish we were in our armor! HOW did the Covenant find us?!" Celestina then shouted a little louder, "Come on, you guys! Move it!"

"One problem at a time, Celest," Rhonda glanced through the scope of her sniper rifle. "I've got eyes on two more phantoms."

"_Two_? SHIT."

That made it the fourth phantom guess far. The first two dropped its garrison a good distance away from AMBER base and used its plasma cannons to destroy the fences surrounding the base, just enough for the Covenant to enter and start killing. Celestina and Rhonda had been escorting the base's technicians to the pelicans so that they could escape.

The girls were worried about the two phantoms - whether it would play a part in the escape of the pelicans. And the base turrents were getting demolished by the second.

"Celest, I'm going to get a rocket launcher and try to take that phantom out. I need you to stay here and make sure the rest of these people get into the vehicles and leave!"

"The turrets will get them! You'r-"

"That's an order, Celest, and those turrets can't last forever! I'll be fine really!" Rhonda hurriedly handed her sniper rifle over to the Lieutenant and headed for the nearest base entrance.

"IF YOU DIE, I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU, RHON!"

"GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!" Despite the situation, Rhonda still delivered that line with humor.

Celestina had no idea that her sentence didn't make sense.

* * *

"Get these Pelicans moving! Go, go, go!" Celestina screamed over the gunfire. Bullets and plasma were flying everywhere. Shadow Four struggled to keep the Pelicans safe from ground forces while Banshees were giving her trouble from above. That was when the sniper rifle that Rhonda left her proved to be a huge help.

The last pelican finally took off, leaving Celestina to finally breathe a little... until that Pelican exploded in mid-air.

Celestina hit the dirt, dropping the rifle. "No!" On her knees, she turned her head to see the burning pieces of the pelican. "No, no, no!"

Another phantom. And it was facing in her direction.

That was when two shots from a Rocket Launcher landed on it. Rhonda was doing her part, and the Covenant aircraft was in slight disarray.

Celestina waited for more shots, but they never came. "Come on, Rhon... Could use a little bit of help here..."

By then, the Phantom had regained control and sent bolts from its plasma cannons to Celestina's direction. She made tracks for the interior, barely grazed by the shots. She had already received a nasty slice on her upper left arm from an energy sword wielded by an Elite on the ground. No way she was getting any more burns.

Now to find Rhonda.

Celestina hastened to meet her at the rooftop, where she had been firing that rocket launcher at phantoms. For some reason, she stopped and Celestina needed to find out why.

Bursting through the door leading to the rooftops, she got her answer: Rhonda, armed with a lone combat knife, was engaged in combat with two energy sword-wielding Elites.

"HEY!"

It worked: the two Elites had become distracted by Celestina's fearless cry, giving Rhonda the chance to stab one of the two Elites in the back. In retaliation, the other grabbed Rhonda and tossed her to the ground.

Celestina, armed with both her combat knives, targeted the already-wounded Elite. It had dropped its energy sword out of pain so when she came up to it, it tried its hardest to fight back with its fist, while at the same time fighting the intense pain in its back. When it missed its punch, she reached up and stabbed it under its jaw.

It was then that Celestina picked up a shrill cry - Rhonda had been impaled by the second Elite's energy sword from the front.

"NO!"

The Elite used its huge foot to push Rhonda off its blade and then taunt Celestina with a mighty roar. It headed towards her, sword raised and that was when she threw one of her combat knives at it and it caught it in the center of its chest, completely breaking through the shields.

Celestina was not done; she jumped onto top of the Elite and used her other knife to repeatedly stab it in the face until it was no longer moving.

Celestina finally came to her senses and stopped herself. The knife slipped through her hand and landed on the ground next to the Elite's face. She crawled over to her Lieutenant Commander, tears already forming in her eyes. "Rhonda!"

Rhonda's back was on the ground; she was facing the star-studded sky with a distraught look on her face. Blood was trailing down from her mouth as her hands struggled to cover the wounds on her chest and abdomen.

"Rhonda, hey! Hey!" Celestina cupped her cheeks. "Look at me! Look at me!" And she did, though she appeared as if she was trying to say something. "You just keep your eyes on me, okay? Keep them on me! I'm right here. I'm right here, sister. That's what I am, right? Your sister? Well I'm not going anywhere. You just hang in there, help is on the way for you!"

Rhonda was losing blood by the second but Celestina did not want to admit it. She did not want to admit that another one of her friends was going to leave. And when it was under her watch again.

In the midst of coughs, Rhonda only managed to get one word out: "Ryan..."

"You're gonna see him! You're gonna see Ryan again! Once we patch you back up, you'll be good as new!" And her tears began to fall from her hazel eyes one by one. "Heck, because you're that determined, you'll probably get back into fighting mode that quickly that he won't be able to tell that you were hurt! That's how strong you are, Rhon, and it's always so awesome to see! So I need you to be just as strong, oka-"

It then dawned upon Celestina that Rhonda's brown eyes were now staring into nothingness.

"Oh no... No, no! No!"

The gunfire around Celestina sounded distant at this point. "Rhonda, please! You can't! Not you too! Don't do this!" She lowered her head and began to sob heavily.

"I don't want to have to tell Ryan... Please, Rhon..."


	14. Comfort

****Location: Celestina's room, Camp Commandant's residence, Camp Currahee**  
**March 28th, 2549  
**April 16th, 2549  
10:02am**

_I wonder how Jun is. It's been 2 weeks since we all were sent to our respective locations. I know he's in Noble Team now but... I can't help but think how he's coping with all of it. At least he won't have to stuck in therapy as much as I have to be. At least Emile's in there.  
_

_But I already miss him. I wish I could contact him somehow. He doesn't know where I am and I don't know where he is. _

"Celestina?"

The Spartan finally glanced up to the doctor, teary-eyed.

"You spaced out, Celestina. What was on your mind?"

_Can't say anything about my relationship with him. _"Jun. Remember him?"

The blue-eyed 32-year old smiled warmly at her. "Of course I do. You always speak so fondly of him. About how he's been taking care of you since you two meet, how he tends to be a little bit overprotective. Why was he on your mind?"

"I was wondering how he was doing. He knew the twins longer than I did, but even when I joined Shadow, we instantly became a family of our own."

"I see..." Sonia entered that into her data pad. "Let's talk about Rhonda."

"I tried... I swear I really did try."

"Try what?"

"To save her. I really did. Should've tried harder. That Elite was right there, right next to me. Rhonda was right next to me," Sonia could easily hear the regret in her soft voice. "I _know _that I couldn't control her fate but I know I could've saved her. I _know _I could have. I can still hear her trying to breathe..."

"You _bitch. _You were right there! You caused this! You have absolutely no idea of the _pain _involved!"

_Oh no... Not now. Why now?!  
_

She was standing right behind the doctor, in the same outfit she had died in. Her light brown hair was disheveled, the blood trail on the corner of her mouth was still here... and so were the two stab wounds on her chest and abdomen respectively.

Celestina locked her eyes on the doctor instead. "What do you do to silence the voices in your head?"

"What voices, Celestina?"

She swallowed hard - Celestina hadn't told any of her psychiatrists about her hallucinations, so it was never reflected in her psychiatric evaluations. "I never told this to anyone before, expect for Jun. I…" She found it difficult to say the words. What if the good doctor would think that she was nuts? "When I feel really _really _bad about someone dying, I… have hallucinations."

Well Sonia was _not _expecting that. "Hallucinations?"

"Rhonda is standing right behind you."

Sonia almost didn't believe that, but she did, in fact, very slowly turned her head to the back.

"Whenever I lose someone and my heart can't take it, I have… hallucinations of that person. It's been happening for years. It all started with my siblings, Christine and Caden. Then it moved on to my fellow Spartans whom I've lost over the course of my career. If I couldn't save them or I regret not being about to see them one last time, they appear. Most of the time spiting hatred towards me for not saving them and sometimes they tell me to try to move on."

Sonia quickly listed all of that down, her facial expression telling Celestina that she was a little disappointed. "Why didn't you say anything the first time, Celestina?"

The Spartan shut her eyes tightly. "Because I was handling it," She then opened them. "I really was. Sure, I'd lose my temper with the hallucination, but it would be anger well released. I'd also ignore it. Pretend that it wasn't there, bury myself in work... or I'd just talk to Jun. He was always so patient with me when it came to the hallucinations. He'd reminisce about the old days, make me laugh, pretty much anything to distract me." She then saddened a little, now reminded of the fact that she was far away from him. "I know that he isn't here to help me anymore, so I'll have to help myself."

Sonia gave her a little smile. "Don't forget about me, Celestina. I'm here to help you too."

That certainly put a small smile on the Spartan's lips.

"I want you to continue what you've been doing to fight these hallucinations, Celestina. Ignore them. Vent your anger at them. After all, it's all a part of your imagination. I'll be sure to prescribe you some medication as well."

"Doc, there is... one more thing that might help."

"And what's that?"

"... I want out."

"Out of...?"

"The program," Celestina said, leaning forward, now pleading with her hazel eyes. "I need to leave the Spartan program. I shouldn't have joined the first place. Ambrose shouldn't have thought that my skills were exceptional and pulled me out of Alpha. He should've let me die with the rest of the company. I may be good at what I do, but it's causing me my sanity! I-I can't do this anymore! I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I don't want anything worse to happen to me. T-The best thing for me is to leave."

_"Go ahead!" _Rhonda spat. _"Leave! Quit! But wherever you go, Celest, we're _all _coming for you! You _can't _erase us!" _

Celestina turned her head to Rhonda's direction with determination in her eyes. "Yes, I can. And I _will_."

* * *

**En route to Starwave Base  
December 31st, 2552  
7:37am**

"Do you have any memories of when Rhonda was killed?"

"I can only recall you comforting Lady Celestina. She was going through such a tramatic time."

The two of them were sitting at the back of a Transport Warthog, on their way to Starwave Base in Chicago, to meet their second potential recruit, as well as Celestina who was stationed there as the head trainer. The weather was simply perfect for a relaxing drive. Jun tried to enjoy it as much as he could but he was too busy staring at the dog tags in his right hand.

"Celest couldn't sleep or eat properly for a while. Broke my heart to see her like that. Never _could _stand to see her cry."

Death was currently activating his ability to appear life-sized and he was sitting opposite his carrier. "And because of your love and care, she bounced back, Jun."

"But a little piece of her always dies," Jun clutched the dog tags tightly and leaned against the seat, turning his head to the road. "And that's the part that sucks." Taking a deep breath, he then said, "Does she know about Noble Team? If so, how is she coping with it all? Especially about Emile. She loved him like a big brother. And he loved her like a little sister. But if she doesn't know... how the hell am I going to tell her? She'll be absolutely crushed."

"You are just going to have to say it, my little Spartan. There is no other way. Tell her and then... Well..." Death glanced up. "Comfort her as you always have."

* * *

**Location: Celestina's dorms, Vulture Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
January 10th, ******2549  
**8:41pm**

"Ryan still refuses to come out of his room. I don't know what to do, Celest."

Celestina was lying on her right side on her bed, staring into the distance. "We should just leave him be, then. It's a difficult time for him."

Jun felt his heart tighten when he heard the pain in her voice. He walked in and took Celestina's hands. "Come on," She sat up, although slightly confused. He sat next to her and motioned for her to lay her head on his lap.

Suddenly, she felt more safe and secure than she had ever felt in her life. She always felt like that each time she was close to him. Her hand was entwined with one of his. Jun used his free hand to gently stroke her hair. "You haven't eaten properly in days, Celest. Once again, you skipped lunch and dinner. Don't do this to yourself. Let me get you something."

Celestina shook her head slightly. "I'm not hungry."

"Even Spartans need their food, princess."

"I don't have the appetite, sweetie. It's okay."

"No, it's not," He said strongly. "I know you, Celest. You _always_ do this. And if you think I'm letting you off the hook, you're wrong."

"What, you're gonna threaten to starve yourself unless I eat? Like _you_ always do?"

"Hell yes."

She made herself a little more comfortable on his lap. "Liar."

"I'll do it."

"No, you won't."

"Try me."

"Ugh," She sighed irritatingly. "Don't do this to me, you little devil."

"Go take a bite out of something and I won't."

"I hate you."

She couldn't see the smirk on his face. "Love you too, princess."

That certainly put a smile on her face. "You always know what to do and say to me. I don't deserve you at all."

"Don't say that, princess," He hushed her amiably. "I don't think I deserve someone has loving as you, but here you are."

"Oh, that's not the point, Jun," She pushed herself off his lap and faced him. "You put up with every single thing about me. I'm such a huge burden to you, yet you still carry me every step of the way."

"Whoa, now," One large hand cupped her cheek. "I have and will _never_ consider you a burden. We've been friends since we first met. It's only natural that I take care of you."

"And you've been doing that close to 20 years now. Aren't you tired?"

He shrugged his shoulders at that. "What can I say? You're my greatest weakness." He earned a genuine giggle from her for that. Then he leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Anything to shut me up, eh?"

"Well, that wasn't meant to shut you up. It was meant to prove my point."

"Oh?" She raised one eye brow at that. "And what was that point?"

"That I love you."

If that sentence didn't make her heart sing, nothing else will. She touched foreheads with him, silently thanking him for simply just being here. "Stay with me tonight."

"I thought you'd never ask."


	15. Alone

**Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base, Mars  
December 21st, 2552  
9:12pm**

Celestina leaned against her leather chair, wishing she could get some proper sleep. However, the past three months had been hell for her, to the point where she checked herself back into therapy. She fixed her gaze onto the holostill she was holding, unable to keep the occasional tear from falling. The holostill was of the Spartans from Alpha who had been deemed "too valuable" and were pulled out of the company way before Operation: PROMETHEUS, all dressed up in their uniforms. This was one of the three holostills she had on her table and they were the most precious things in the world to her.

"You looked beautiful in your uniform on that day."

She so desperately wanted to ignore that voice. She knew the presence in her office was not real. It had never been. There would be no point in engaging in conversation.

But her emotions got the better of her. Again. Without glancing up, she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, princess. Don't I get a smile for that?"

"You're just a part of my imagination."

"Ouch," "Jun" said, placing one hand over his heart. "Such a heart-breaker, aren't you, Celest?"

She sighed heavily at that. "Stop it."

"Can I tell you something?

"I'd rather you didn't," She said dryly, leaning over to put the holostill back in its place.

The hallucination made himself much more comfortable on the leather sofa, one leg over the other. "Why did you leave the program? You potentially ruined a chance for us to team up again."

"I'm not listening to you."

"You decided that I wasn't important enough, right? Shame, though. I really thought we had something special. Can't believe we lasted all this time." He said, the sarcasm seeping through his once-loving tone.

During that time, she had been holding a folder. At the last sentence, she slammed the folder onto her table and shot up from her chair. "_Don't give me that_. I _know _that this isn't _Jun _talking. You're just a figment of my imagination! How _else_ can I punish myself for not saying how you meant to me more?" She made her way around her table and to him. "It was _Jun _who suggested that I leave the program. He _knew _what it was doing to me. He _knew _that it was not meant for me, _no matter _how damn good I was at my role. He wanted me to be safe. He wouldn't say such things to me."

This hallucination of Jun was wearing a black t-shirt, combat pants and boots, as well as a smirk on his face. He leisurely got to his feet and stood in front of Celestina. "I never loved you, you know,"

That felt like a knife straight to the heart.

"I always considered you a burden. A _mistake_. Taking your hand during that paradrop was the worst thing I ever did. It got me stuck with you for the rest of my life."

New tears were forming in her eyes at that. "Don't say that... It's not true! You'd _never _say that!"

"Ohhhh, but it's true, my little crybaby," He taunted in singsong, cupping both her cheeks. "You were nothing more than a simple past time for me."

In a fit of rage, she pried his hands away from her face and delivered a tight slap across his face. In retaliation and with much swiftness, his strong hand had a grip on her neck.

"Listen to me, you little _bitch_," Pure hatred was coming from the hallucination right now. "It's aaaaall over now and you need to get that into your skull. You might wish that you could get one last chance to tell me how much I meant to you but you're not going to get it. Not now, not ever.

Celestina had her hands on his one hand, trying her hardest to get it off her neck. "Jun, _please..._!"

"You're all alone, princess, just like you're suppose to be." So saying, he tossed her to her desk, with Celestina managing to stay on her feet by twisting her body and grabbing the edge of her desk.

As she attempted to catch her breath, she turned her head to him, only to find that she was the only one in the office. She scanned the area and found no one else.

Never had a hallucination been so violent with her. Sure, there was yelling, but never physical abuse. The whole situation made her skin crawl and her blood run cold as ice.

She knew for a fact that she needed to be stronger in order to beat these hallucinations. She knew that it was going to take a lot of work and a lot more time but it had to be done.

Celestina just wished that it didn't have to hurt so much.

* * *

**A/N: Definitely one of my favorite chapters in tackling Celestina's problem!  
**


	16. Sister

**Location: Jun's dorm, Vulture Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
February 28th, 2549  
10:23am**

The sun was burning high in the clear blue sky above the bigger and badder Vulture Base. The base was Shadow Team's new home after Amber Base sustained heavy damage due to an unexpected Covenant attack, which also claimed the life of Shadow Two, Rhonda.

On this morning, Jun was on his desktop computer, minding his business and reading the news when someone knocked on the door of his dorm. He smirked to himself; he knew who it was. "Come on in!"

And sure enough, Celestina entered the room in her black tank top and combat pants and boots, happy as a lark. "Jun! _Buon compleanno_ (Happy birthday)!"

As he got up from his seat, he couldn't help but laugh amiably at that. It was tradition to wish each other in their own languages. "_Grazie_, Celest."

"_Pozhaluysta _(You're welcome)!" She pulled him into a lasting hug, giving him a kiss on the cheek before pulling back.

"How I love it when you speak Russian,"

"How I love it when _you _speak Italian," She beamed, her smile bright enough to put the sun out of business.

"Good to know," He said, holding her hands. "So where's my present?

"Your present is all of my unconditional love and support." She declared, stealing one kiss from him.

For that, she received a grin. "Well, I couldn't ask for a better gift." With that, he placed one kiss on the center of her forehead.

She headed for his bed to take a comfortable seat. "So what's your birthday wish?

"Like I'm going to tell you." Jun turned around to shut off the desktop computer.

"Oh, come on!" She whined. "I thought we share everything!"

"Well, obviously not. Tough luck, princess."

"You meanie!"

"Take it up with the boss!"

"I can't, we've barely seen anything of him for the last month."

That was when the door slid to an open. "Did someone call my name?"

Heads turned to the direction of that voice instantly. Ryan stood at the doorway with a little smile on his face.

The color drained from Celestina's face. "H-hey, boss..."

"Morning, Celest," He greeted, keeping his tiny smile. "I hear it's someone's birthday today! Happy birthday, man!"

Jun returned the smile. "Thanks, boss. How've you been?"

"Me?" Ryan acted as if that question wasn't directed towards him. "Oh, I'm good."

The duo exchanged looks of uncertainty and confusion, before directing their attention to him once more. "Well, that's good to hear, boss. We were really worried." Jun spoke, knowing full well that Celestina was speechless at the moment.

"I appreciate it, you two. Really," Then Ryan glanced at the gaping Celestina. "Celest, you mind if we speak for a moment?

"Um, sure, boss." She got to her feet and followed him out of the room.

Right next door was Ryan's dorms. He entered his codes into a small keypad and let Celestina enter first. Once the door slide to a shut, Celestina spun around instantly and began to speak. "Ryan, I... I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shadow One raised his hands in truce. "Celest, it's okay. I know what you're going to say, but I want you to know that I'm not mad at you."

She knitted her eyebrows together at that. "... What? How can you _not _be?"

He ran one hand past his short brown hair before stopping at the back of his neck to massage it. "You told me what happened and I also read the report. Celest, there was nothing you could've done for her."

"You _know _I could have," The image of Rhonda's blank eyes gazing into the distance flashed in her mind's eye. "Ryan, I won't say anything if you blame me, really, because I deserve it."

"Celest, no," Instinctively, Ryan placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't do that. I know of your history. The therapy and psych evals... it's amazing that you're still standing tall. I didn't want you to have to go through that night when Rhonda was-" He couldn't bring himself to say it. Not yet. "But it happened. Sure, I'd probably have to go through therapy for the rest of my life but I won't have is you blaming yourself for something that was not in your control."

"Sometimes, I wish people would stop saying that..."

"Come on, Celest," Ryan almost pleading now. "Don't do this. Focus on getting better. I already lost one sister," He said, taking in a breath to mask the tears. "I don't want to lose another."

She was not expecting that from her Commander. 'Sister'? That was one of the sweetest things she had ever heard in her life. "And you won't."

"Good. Now give me a hug."

"Yes, boss!" She put her arms around his neck, his were around her waist.

Perhaps it was something he needed at the moment. All he had been doing for the past month was staring at a holostill of his family. He also knew Celestina needed it as well. "I miss her."

At that sentence, Celestina made sure her hug was tight enough. "Me too."


	17. Sacrifices

**Location: Nearby a Covenant Citadel  
Azelia Territory, Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
March 16th, ******2549  
**11:01pm**

**_"Walk me through your last mission with Shadow Team."_**

**_"Valentine gave us the mission details."_**

"Your mission, dear Shadow, is to destroy a Covenant Citadel that has began to make its home at the outskirts of the town of Azelia. You will have to place two remote detonator charges at the base to destroy it."

Valentine, the team's AI related the mission to the three remaining Shadow members. With their objective clear, they suited up, prepared their weapons and made their way to the Citadel, which was still in construction as evidenced by the orbital beams over two of the seven building sites. It was the perfect time to attack and take it out before it would start producing the more nastier stuff.

Beaumontia's moon hung over the base, bathing it with his luminous glow. It was located next to a lake, with the only access point being a downward ramp. The base was also surrounded by cliffs of different heights. The three Spartans stood over the tallest cliff that loomed over the base, studying the patrol patterns of the guards. Trying to accomplish this missions using stealth was going to be a great challenge. With the base still setting up, there was no doubt that the Covenant soldiers were going to be on high alert.

High-ranking Elites and two groups of Grunts were strolling all around the base. Jackals took sniper positions on the lower cliffs. This was the same situation as yesterday and the day before.

Ryan turned his head to his other team members. "We need a plan and it needs to be a damn good one. Anybody?"

"A good ol' fashion distraction?" Celestina coined. "It just takes one of us to throw them off."

"True, but not while those snipers are around," Jun said.

"Alright then. Celestina and I will take out the snipers and Jun, once we give you the green light, you cause the distraction. We'll do whatever it takes to plant the charges and meet up with you later."

* * *

"You ready to start a firefight, Celest? Those snipers were just a warm-up."

"Really, now? Well, I hope we're gonna keep score."

"You can take the Grunts, if you'd like."

"Such a gentleman, Ryan."

"Thank you!" The Commander smiled cheekily behind his brown-colored CQB helmet. "Jun should be providing our distraction right about..."

A collection of frag grenades exploded about a short distance from the front of the base. All alien heads snapped to the direction of the noise.

"That's it! Let's go!"

Ryan got the jump on the nearest Brute while Celestina tossed a grenade at the nearest of the two groups of Grunts. She hopped off the cliff she was on and fired her twin Sub-machine Guns at the second group. Once that was done, she hurried to assist her Commander with the remaining Brutes. She tossed one of her two combat knives at a Brute and emptied her SMGs into another.

The area seemed… clear. There was not another alien in sight.

That feeling of uneasiness made its home in Celestina's gut. Why _only _have five Brutes, two groups of Grunts, Jackal and Elites snipers to guard a Citadel in construction? Should there not be more? Like high-ranking Elites on the ground, instead of _just _the low-ranking ones in sniper positions?

"Come on, let's plant those charges." Ryan's order tore her away from her troubles thoughts.

**_"I just knew something was wrong. They always say you should trust your gut. I wish I had said something." _**

They planted the two charges on opposite sides of the Command Center of the Citadel. The charges were supposed to be enough to destroy the base entirely and send a message to the Covenant on Beaumontia. There was no way another planet was going to fall to them.

"You have the detonator?" Celestina questioned, once she hooked up the charge.

"Guarding it with my life," He said. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

"Race you!"

They ran past the front of the base, heading for the ramp that would take them to their meeting point. That was when two cloaked Elites revealed themselves, blocking the ramp - Special Operations Elites.

The two Spartan stopped dead in their tracks, only to realize that two more were standing right behind them.

Ryan and Celestina were pointing their Assault Rifle and twin SMGs respectively at the two Elites in front of them. All of the Elites responded with a collection of Energy Swords, Plasma Rifles and Carbines. The female Spartan was the first one to break the silence. "What the _fuck_?"

"It's a trap," Ryan said stoically. "You guys know that this is not going to end well, right? We can fire, you can fire. Either way, we'll all die." _Jun knows he can't do anything. One shot and bullets and plasma are gonna start flying. None of us will make it out alive. _

"There is no way out of this, humans," One of two Elites in front of them, standing in front of Ryan wielding an Energy Sword, said. "Surrender now for inquisition."

"You're crazy if you think we're doing that. Four of you against the two of us? Hardly seems like a fair trade, isn't it?" Celestina's mind ran wild, trying to come up with a plan.

"You failed to include the… assassin you have hidden within the cliffs," The other Elite, standing before Celestina, then spoke, his voice even more gravelly than the first one.

Ryan kept his composure, but he knew for a fact that Celestina will struggle if that Elite mentioned anything more. "What assassin?"

"He has already been eliminated. If you wish to suffer the same fate, then by all means, attack." The first Elite was practically taunting them.

Hazel eyes widened in complete shock. _Jun? _The grips on her SMGs loosened and she was about to lower her arms.

"Celestina, do _not _lower your weapons!" Ryan commanded as soon as he got sight of her hands faintly quaking. "They're lying. A trick to lower our guards. Jun is fine. He's probably slapping around whatever's attacking him."

"Make your choice, humans. Live? Or die?"

Immediately after that statement, soft static poured through their internal helmet speakers. _"Guys? Are you there?"_

That was when Celestina's eyes lit up.

_"I've got eyes on your position. Ryan, I'm gonna get the Elite on your six. After which, it's weapons free. I can't see any other way out of this." _

Ryan sucked in a deep breath and proceeded to lower his weapons. Celestina followed suit. "Okay," He said out loud. "Do whatever you have to do."

That shot from Jun's Sniper Rifle tore through the silence of the night and the Elite standing behind the Commander fell like a ragdoll. Celestina tossed both her SMGs at the Elite in front of her, spun around and stabbed the Elite behind her using her sage-colored combat knife.

The Spec Ops Elite that was in front of her grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her back a few paces, pointing its Plasma Rifle at her. She ran at it, her shields taking the plasma bolts before she drove her shoulder into its midsection. They both fell to the ground, Celestina elbowed it in the face and then pulled out her black-colored combat knife and thrust it into his neck.

Celestina then overheard a sharp grunt to her right, disturbingly similar to Rhonda's cry when she was stabbed by that Energy Sword…

… She witnessed Ryan attempting to keep that Elite from pushing its Energy Sword deeper into his side.

_**"It was a cruel repetition of what happened to Rhonda."**_

No sooner did she turn her head, that Elite took a sniper bullet right through the side of its head.

Ryan fell to one knee and Celestina instantly got to his side, one arm around his back. "Ryan! Oh no, no, no!"

With an incredible amount of resistance, Ryan pulled out the sword from his abdomen and tossed it aside. Celestina immediately sat one hand over the wound. "Ryan, it's gonna be okay! I'm gonna get you out of here!" She re-established contact with Jun immediately on the team's COM channel. "Jun!"

"Celest, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are couple of Phantom dropships heading to our location!"

"Then the... the two of you need to make a run for it..." Ryan then spoke, not without gritting his teeth at the pain.

Celestina glanced at him as if she had been slapped her across the face. "What? We're _not _leaving you here! We can get you out!"

Ryan practically ripped off his helmet, revealing a small blood trail from the corner of his mouth. "I can distract the Phantoms, give you two enough time to run to the extraction point."

"You're _nuts_, Ryan!" She cried out.

To her surprise, he gave her a little smile. "I thought I was your brother?"

She originally thought that he was going to say something stupid in an attempt to change her mind, but she was not expecting this sudden statement. She had no answer for that, except for the tears brimming in her eyes. "You can't..."

"I have to, Celest. It's the only way you two will make it out alive."

"So you're gonna destroy the base? Taking out the Phantoms _and _yourself?!"

"Better to go out with a bang, right? Look, Celest," He placed one hand around the back of her neck. "These few months have been great. You're one heck of a Spartan and friend. This is not your place, or Jun's. You two need to get out of here. Not me. I've got Rhonda waiting for me."

Her eyes dotted upwards to the black sky, catching sight of a few flying objects in the distance. She was running out of things to say to convince her Commander to leave with her.

So Celestina pulled off her Scout helmet and gave him a quick yet loving hug. He reciprocated with a pat on her back. "Tell Jun to that if he doesn't take good care of you then Rhon and I are gonna haunt him in his sleep."

She couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Always have and always will, boss."

Ryan definitely felt better after that sentence from Jun. Celestina pulled back and picked up her helmet. Ryan gave her one last smile before saying, "See you guys someday."

"We won't forget this," She said, her voice cracking as she got to her feet. "Love you, boss."

"Right back at ya."

**_"And that's when I turned around, shoved my helmet back on and ran like my life depended on it."_**

* * *

**A/N: Well, I always take my time with action scenes because it's not my best quality. Either way, I hope you all like it!  
**

**This is supposed to be the last chapter to the Shadow Team flashback but I never anticipated that I'd write so much! So I'd have to split it into two. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :) **


	18. Saved

**Location: Nearby a Covenant Citadel  
Azelia Territory, Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
March 16th, 2549  
11:46pm**

_**"I met up with Jun and we both agreed that we wished we hadn't listened to Ryan. The extraction point was pretty far but we couldn't stop so we still kept running. That's when we heard the explosion and felt the ground practically shake. That's when it really sunk in for me, that Ryan had sacrificed himself for us. Took everything not to cry. So I grabbed Jun's hand and we continued to run to the extraction point. I just didn't want to look back. We were halfway there when two Zealots jumped out of nowhere. And I almost lost the most important person in my life." **_

"Jun!"

Celestina had been pinned to the ground, trying to pry the Zealot's hands off her neck. However, her attention was also on Jun, who was engaged in battle with the other Zealot, and the fact that they were tediously close to the edge of a cliff.

Clutching her hand into a fist, she punched the Zealot repeatedly in the face, though the shields were doing its job. "Get... the fuck... _off me_!"

She delivered a strong headbutt to the Elite's head, causing it to loosen its grip on her neck. She took this chance to toss the creature off of her and return her attention to her other half.

When she did, all she witnessed was them going over the edge.

A haunted haze of fear surrounded her at that point. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. "Jun, NO!"

The Zealot she had been battling seized the moment. It activated his wrist blade and thrust it right in her lower back. She let go of a pained grunt, at the same time mentally slapping herself for allowing such a thing to happen. She had let her feelings for Jun get in the way and the Zealot promptly took advantage of that.

The Zealot yanked her back and she fell back-first to the ground with a 'thud'. It placed one foot on the center of her chest and the other on her right arm when she was reaching for the combat knife on her right thigh.

She could hear her heart pound in her head at that point as she struggled to move. The Zealot decided that it had had enough of her, used one hand to grapple her head and drive it into the solid ground. She felt the back of her head connect with her helmet, causing some blurriness in her vision. The Zealot knew it was time to finish this off and so it raised its newly-retrieved Energy Sword...

... And was taken by major surprise when a Spartan in sage-colored armor bulldozed it right off Celestina.

The female Spartan felt her arm being freed and the horrible weight lift off her chest. However, that slam to her head was playing hell with her vision at the moment. She wasn't able to clearly see Jun snap that Zealot's neck for laying his hands on her. She also wasn't able to clearly hear him say that both the Zealots were eliminated, that the extraction point was close and that she was going to be okay.

Yet somehow, she could feel him lifting her into his strong arms and carrying her all the way to the extraction point.

* * *

**A/N: A short chapter, yes, but I hope I made it exciting enough!  
**

**And soon enough, they will reunite! ;)**


	19. Superhero

**Location:** **Celestina's dorms****, Vulture Base**  
**Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
March 17th, 2549  
10:13am**

Celestina stirred in her sleep briefly before she cracked open her eyes and was almost blinded by the ceiling light. That was a good sign. It meant that she was somewhere safe, far away from that Covenant Citadel. The slight pain in her lower back also meant that she was alive. At least her head wasn't throbbing anymore.

"Hey, princess."

No words could express Celestina's joy at that moment. Jun, out of his armor and in a sage-colored t-shirt and combat pants, moved away from the window and to her bed, taking a seat next to her.

"Help me up, Jun," That was the first thing she said.

"Celest-"

"It doesn't hurt. Really. _And_ I am a Spartan." She pointed out with a little smile.

Jun wasn't buying it. He knew it was hurting her, even if it was the slightest bit. Yet he rarely denied her of anything. "Alright. Put your arms around my neck."

She did just that while he wrapped his own arms around her back, and successfully helped her sit up.

While he was pulling away, Celestina waited until his lips were close to hers so that she could capture them by surprise. It was also her way of telling him how elated she was to have him with her, alive. "But... I saw you and the Zealot go over the edge."

He smiled at her and then stroked the back of her head. "Stuck one of my combat knives into the cliff and then grabbed the edge before the knife could break. You won't believe how durable those things are. I pulled myself up and saw that Zealot on top of you. I couldn't believe how mad I got. I practically speared it off the face of the earth."

The look on his face definitely made her giggle. "Well, you saved my life. Once my superhero," Her hands traveled up to the sides of his perfectly chiseled cheeks. "Always my superhero."

They shared a soft laugh until Celestina caught the new presence in her private dorm. "Ryan?"

Jun's smile disappeared as if someone had slapped it right off. He turned his head around and found no one near her communications terminal.

"You're alive?" She questioned, wondering how the hell she missed him the first time.

"Celest," Jun placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me. He's not there."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just a hallucination."

Now _her _smile had been slapped off her face. "Oh God…" She lowered her head instantly.

"I want you to listen to me and focus _only_ on me, okay, princess?" Jun said in his soothing tone. "Ryan's not there. It's just you and me."

It took a while, but she timidly lifted her head up to check whether or not her late Commander was still there or not. When she saw nothing of him, she heaved a sigh of relief. "He's gone, Celest?"

She nodded without saying a single word. He gently pulled her into his loving arms, one hand at the back of her head, the other patting her back. "I can't believe he's gone…" She began to sob into his chest. "Both of them… The team's half down. _How _are we going to recover from this?"

"We will, princess. We will. We _always _do," He made sure that he was holding her as close as possible. "You'll be fine in no time."

"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had lost you too, Jun. Please don't ever leave me..."

"Now you know that I won't ever leave my princess," So saying, he placed a quick kiss on her head. "I've kept my promise all this time and will continue to keep it and you and I are too damn old to be shooting guns and throwing knives."

Somehow, that statement made her produce a little giggle. It must have been because of how serious he sounded. "You're silly!"

"I have to be silly to make you smile." He said in proud declaration.

Little by little, she was feeling better, forgetting about what had just happened. "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if people were to find out that you are a softie."

"Heyyy, you promised not to tell!"

"But it's the truth! You're not as taciturn as you would have people believe!"

"It's called 'being disciplined',"

"Shut up, you talk too much."

"What can I do? You're the one who can't enough of my sexy accent."

Celestina buried her face into his chest, laughing uncontrollably. If it was up to Jun, he'd listen to the sound of her laughter forever.

* * *

**March 21st  
8:12pm  
**

"Celest!"

"You got the news too?"

She nodded.

Jun walked deeper into her private dorm, meeting up with Celestina who stood in front of her communications terminal, holding her data pad close to her chest. "So where are you headed?"

"To get an extensive psychiatric evaluation."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at that. "You what?"

She exhaled, seemingly tired of all of these visits to the doctors.

"Tell him."

That new voice, though not unfamiliar, came from the man standing her other half. "You have to, Celest."

Ryan's presence was definitely making her uneasy, not matter how comforting his voice was. "Sweetie, I…. I witnessed the deaths of both our teammates. And I _don't _exactly have a good track record when it comes to dealing with my feelings. I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to do this to me."

"It just seems too much."

"Ambrose doesn't think so,"

"Ambrose gave the order?"

She nodded once again, setting down her data pad next to her communications terminal and walking up to Jun. "You know him, Jun. He doesn't want to lose any more of his Spartans. He just wants the best for us. He'll probably look out for us until we're… too damn old to be shooting guns and throwing knives."

Jun chuckled at that. "Okay then. And, Celest…" Celestina could tell that Jun was trying to find the words for what he wanted to say. So first, he took her hands in a gentle grip. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. For a while now."

And right now, Celestina could tell that he was not joking around. "Okay, sure," She led him to her bed where they took a seat. "Tell me."

"There's something you can tell the doctors when you go for this evaluation. And… I think it's the best thing for you."

"What's that, sweetie?"

"You can leave."

Leave? What was that supposed to mean? "Leave? As in… the program?"

"Yes."

"B-but why?"

Jun's hands enclosed hers in a tighter grasp now. "Because it's not good for you. Never was. Celest, you were broken when you joined. All of us were. And you never recovered from your family's death."

"But Jun, _none _of us did!" She whined.

"But for most of us – it hardened us. It didn't harden _you. _You've got a gentle heart, princess. And every time someone you cared about died, that just weighed more on you," Jun ran one of his hands up her cheek. "The Covenant took everything from you. This life takes even more. You're damn good at what you do, but it's isn't good _for you_." His words rendered her speechless. So he continued by saying, "The look on your face a few days ago when you saw Ryan in here… Damn, I wish I knew how to explain how much it hurt me to see you like that."

She now had tears forming in her hazel eyes. She placed one hand over the one he had on her cheek. "It always has. Hasn't it?"

He nodded at that. "Celest, I just want what's best for you."

"_You're _what's best for me. Always have been," She removed his hand from her cheek so that she could clasp it with both her hands. "You and my brother are really not that far off. Both of you take such good care of me and love me unconditionally." She couldn't help but point out with the faintest of smiles.

"That's nice to hear." He returned her smile.

"So you really think I should leave?"

"All I want is for you to get better, princess."

She could clearly see the sincerity in his bright blue eyes. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck to hug him. "But I don't want to leave you." She almost cried into his shoulder.

"We'll still communicate. We've got means to it, don't we?" Sometimes, Jun felt like he was still talking to that frightened 6-year-old he met. Not like he had a problem with it or anything.

That was when she loosened her tight hug to pull away and face him once more. "Jun... Ambrose said something else. Um... h-he wants to make sure that I stay uninterrupted during my recovery. S-so... so my location will be classified and there will next to no communication."

"Celest..."

"I don't like it too. But what can I do?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"So we won't see each other for a _long _time..."

"It looks like it..."

It was a dreadful situation that neither of them wanted to accept. However, to Jun, it was important that Celestina fully recover from what she had been going through all these years. She never had her whole heart in past doctor visits. There were things she left out. That was because she told everything and anything to Jun and he would be the one to help her. Yet, he knew he could only do so much for her. She _needed _to talk to a professional.

Celestina decided to switch the subject. She put on a beaming smile and said, "Hey. You never told me where you were going to."

"Hm? Oh yeah! Noble Team."

Her eyes widened with amazement. "You're going to Noble?!"

Her excitement definitely put a grin on his face. "They needed a sniper. So it looks like I've been nominated." That line was followed by a little laugh.

"Jun, that's awesome!" She was practically squealing with joy as she leaned in for a quick kiss. "And Emile is there! You're gonna be in great hands!"

"Ha, I guess so!"

Despite Celestina's attempt at changing the topic, it was still difficult to deny the impending separation. Jun didn't know what to say next, but Celestina did. It would sum up whatever she was feeling right now.

"I love you."

For that, she received a smirk and a lasting passionate kiss to her lips.


	20. Ultraviolence

**Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base, Mars**  
**December 30th, 2552**  
**10:11pm**

"We had plenty of amazing New Year Days, didn't we? That year we were turning 16, on New Year's, for a split second, I wanted to tell you how I felt. But I figured, you know, it was a little crush or something and you probably wouldn't have felt the same way so why bother? Why embarrass myself? But then, 3 years rolled by. And you told me that you loved me. And on that night, when you did, you wanna know what I noticed for the first time? The way those hypnotizing hazel eyes of yours would light up every time you looked at me. It's been happening for years but I only noticed it on that special night. It made me wish that during all those years ago, you'd notice how _happy _I'd get every time you would smile at me. Oh, but don't me wrong, Celest. I'm thrilled that we got together 9 years ago. I just wish that we had done it sooner."

"... Are you done? Or do you have more sweet things to say to me before you chew me out?"

An evil smile played on his lips when he heard that. "How are the ribs?"

"Not so good after you tossed me over my desk."

"Sorry about that. Sometimes, I don't know my own strength." The hallucination said as he made himself even more comfortable on Celestina's sofa. "I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't punched me in the face, Celest. You provoked me."

Celestina was in a comfortable navy-blue hoodie jacket, blank pants and heeled boots and currently had no interest in even _glancing _at the hallucination's direction. She huffed in major annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't give a flying fuck if I hurt your little feelings. I just want you out of my life."

"Oh?" Now "Jun" was seeing some interest in this conversation. "You-you want me out of your life? So you've finally decided to cut me out after all this time? Well, it was a long time coming."

Anger coursed through her body as she shot up from her leather chair. "I'm talking about YOU, _not _about Jun! You're _not _Jun! He's _dead_ and I'm trying to accept that! But you just keep coming back again and again and I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" She yelled out.

"What's that? Can't take it anymore?" He leaned forward, now even more intrigued. "Well, nobody's asking you to endure it, princess. You can end it all instantly."

The next thing he realized was that there was a Magnum pointing in his direction, as well as a furious look on Celestina's face. "Or I could just end you."

The hallucination was not to be intimidated by a former Spartan-III handling a gun. He rose to his own feet and stood at a distance from her desk. "By shooting me? Well, good luck with that. You really think that's gonna get rid of me?"

She leisurely made her way around her desk to meet up with him, making damn sure that her grip on her sidearm was tight. "I can try."

He still maintained that smirk of his, as if he knew that at the end of this, he was still going to win. "Then go ahead. Shoot me. Destroy everything we have worked for for the last 9 years!"

"I'm _not _destroying everything he and I have worked for for the last 9 years! I'm destroying the _thing _that's taking my sanity!"

"No. You're digging your _own _grave, princess."

She drew in her breath in a hiss, like he had struck a chord. "Stop calling me that."

"You're losing touch with reality and you _know _that. Look at you! You're pointing your gun at _something that's not there_!"

"I just want you to _get lost_!" She knew he was right, but the rage boiling inside of her was taking over her.

"Oh, but you know deep down you don't want me too. You want to be _punished _in the worst way possible - having _me _point out everything that's wrong with you. How else would you have it other than the person who's been looking out for you since you were 6? Who's been loving you since you were 19? Celest, I can make it all go away. I can make the last of this pain go away for you."

"No, you _can't_!" Tears began to form in her soft hazel eyes already. "_No one _can! I'm all alone, just the way it's supposed to be! Ever since mom and daddy, Christine and Caden, Amy and Jennifer, Yuri, Nick, Ryan and Rhonda, Emile and _you_ were taken from me! Each one murdered or sacrificed! Each of them a _demon _I had to face as they tried to either comfort me or break me down! And now?" Her voice cracking as she struggled to form her next sentence. "And now, I..." She lowered her gun and turned around, unwilling to face him. Instead, she hurried over to her desk and held on to the edges of it, sobbing softly.

"And _why _did each of them die, Celest? It was either the Covenant, the Innies or _your own damn fault. _But let's be real, most of the deaths that occurred around you were your fault and yours alone," His voice was practically dripped in disdain. "So _why _continue to live with the guilt? You _know _you can put an end to it all! So go ahead. Raise that gun to your head."

"No!"

"Why not? Why continue to live like this? Isn't it all too torturous? It's like a razor blade in your stomach, isn't it? A knife to the heart? Celest, you _know _that you can't take it anymore. You said so yourself. So finish it, right here, right now."

Her right hand was quivering as she lifted it up just a little. However, she soon as she did, she dropped her hand. _There's no way... I can't do this... I can't take the pain but I can't do this either. _

With her back facing the hallucination of Jun, she could not view the appalled expression on his face. He could not _believe _that she was unwilling to go through with it. "What's the hell's the matter, Celestina?! You're in utter _pain _and _misery _but you still want to stay alive? For _what_?! Who the HELL is going to miss you?! Certainly not the people you've let _die _under your watch!" He went silent for a good 2 seconds when the realization of this situation dawned upon him. "Ohhhhhh, I get it now. I know why you can't do it. It's because you're _weak_. Weak as always. Always needing _me _to hold your hand. To carry you to the finish line. To take care of you. Oh no. That's not happening anymore. I _refuse _to take care of you anymore! You're a _burden _and you've _always _been one to me! So do the _both of us _a favor and pull the Goddamn trigger, won't you?!"

So she did.

Although it wasn't at her own head. She had pointed the gun at him and the hallucination of Jun had caught it right in the center of his chest, putting him down. Permanently, she had hoped. He just stayed there, on flat on his back, seemingly dead.

"Shut up. You talk too much."

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter dedicated to the demons Celest is facing. **

**Next chapter? The return of everybody's favorite AI, Death! XD**


	21. Greetings and Goodbyes

**Location: Lionsong Medical Facility  
October 28th, 2552  
2:39pm**

Jun's blue eyes ran all over the pure white dress shirt he lifted high up in the air to inspect it. The first expression he had on his face was the "I'm-not-impressed" face, after which he switched it to "But-it'll-do" face. Laying the piece of clothing down onto the bed once more, the next face he pulled was one of pure disgust. "Oh no..." He murmured to himself and picked up the object of his repulsion. "I hate ties..."

"Jun?"

He turned his head back momentarily to see who his visitor was. "Hey, Musa. What's up?"

"Excited for your first day tomorrow?"

Musa's gentleness most definitely reminded the former Noble member of Jorge. Good ol' Jorge. How Jun missed him. Along with Emile and Misha, Noble Six, Jorge knew of his relationship with Celestina and would tease the hell out of him for it. What wouldn't the sniper give to endure one more teasing from the big man. "I can't say I'm not. I mean, I _am _pretty interested in seeing how good of a job we do."

Musa placed both hands, over one the other, on his lap as he leaned against his wheelchair. "I just spearheaded the program, Jun. Most of the work falls on you but I have no doubt in my mind that you will do great. You _and _your new AI."

Jun tossed the tie onto the bed and glanced at the Commander curiously. "Seriously? It worked? You actually didn't need my brain? Intact? Preferably after I'm dead?"

"Technology is a wonderful thing, Jun, and it just keeps getting better," He said as he fished out a thick bracelet from a pouch he had with him. "It's a breakthrough in AI creation. However, we're unsure of all the capabilities your AI holds so I'm guessing he'll have fun discovering while he assists you in your work." So saying, he handed the new second-in-command the bracelet.

Jun accepted it wholeheartedly, noticing that there was what appeared to be a protruding rectangular slot for an AI chip. He slipped the bracelet on and was about to call out for the AI to make his appearance when something popped up in a mist of green a distance away from his face, surprising the Spartan-III nonetheless.

The AI preferred color of choice was a striking shade of sage, similar to his own armor color. He held onto a large scythe that was as tall as him and casually adjusted his hooded robes before looking at Jun's direction.

"Hey there," Jun greeted.

"Oh no. No, no," If Jun didn't know any better, he could have sworn that his own voice had just come out of the AI, but it was just a little huskier. "This will most certainly _not _do. You are far too enormous!" He also retained Jun's Slavic accent, if not a little heavier.

"Oh. Um, well..." As if Jun was a little embarrassed, he patted his own abdomen. "Sorry about that. I try to watch what I eat."

The faceless AI attempted to hold back a chuckle, one hand over where his mouth would be if there wasn't a gaping hole under his hood. "Yes! You are most definitely the one I was created from! It was simply a test. I must apologize. However, straining my neck like this to speak to you is rather hazardous to my health. If you will indulge me..." Instantly, the AI disappeared in a sage-green fog, only to reappear in front of Jun - life-sized.

Jun gasped in bewilderment. "No way!"

"I believe the term I am searching for is 'yes way'," He gripped the scythe in his left hand instead so his right one could be free for a handshake. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Death, and it is an honor to finally meet you, Jun."

Jun took Death's hand and gave it a firm shake. "The feeling is mutual, Death. Your name and your outfit compliment each other, that's for sure."

"I like to think that I have a fantastic scene of fashion, Jun. Thank you!"

He gave a smile for that and noticed the outfit _underneath _Death's robes. "... Is that my armor?"

Death pushed the robes aside to confirm that. "Like I just said, Jun: I have a fantastic scene of fashion."

"Well," All eyes were on Musa. "It looks like you two will have no trouble working together."

"I do not think so," Death said casually, looking back at his carrier. "However, I personally think that you _must _do something about that tattoo."

"Hey, don't be talking about the tattoo." Jun warned, lifting up one finger.

"But it is covering up half of that gorgeous face!" Death then whined.

"I _like _my tattoo! It reminds me that I'm awesome!"

"Oh _please_. It was a triple kill during _trai__ning. _It was not as if you achieved that out in the battlefield!"

"Damn _straight_, because out in the battlefield, I got a quadruple kill!"

"Oh, now you are just showing off..."

If Musa could, he would reverse the wheelchair straight out of the private room to avoid this whole scene, but it was much too entertaining. "Perhaps there might be _some _trouble after all..."

* * *

**Location: Celestina's dorms, Vulture Base  
Beaumontia, Eps****ilon Eridani system  
March 25th, 2549  
****8:00am**

What would Celestina have given to not let this day arrive. Yet it did and it was time to say goodbye to Beaumontia, Vulture Base, and Jun.

On this fine morning, where the Sun hid behind the fluffy clouds, Celestina was in the midst of pulling her dark-green tank top over her head when there were soft knocks on her door before it slid to an open. "Hey, sweetie!" She jogged over to him and threw her arms around his neck, wanting to never waste a chance of physical contact.

"And good morning to you, princess," Jun replied, making sure his hug was tight. "All set?"

"Really wish I wasn't," She muttered, though it was loud enough for him to hear. She pulled away and returned to her duffel bag that was on her bed and zipped it up. "But I am. Just need to wait until the pelican arrives to take me to wherever it is I'm supposed to go to. Oh, and by the way," She turned back to him, hands on his cheeks and gave him a kiss. "Thanks for an awesome night. Definitely one to remember."

Jun returned her kiss with a warm smile. "You're welcome, Celest. Being sleepy as hell right now was totally worth it."

"'Sleepy'? You're a sniper, silly! You're trained to stay awake for 72 hours and _still _be focused on your target!"

"Well, considering what we were up to last night, you gotta understand!"

Blood flowed rapidly to her cheeks, bright as a tomato. "Nooooooooooooooo...!" She plopped her head onto his chest, hitting it along the way. "You're embarrassing me...!" She whimpered helplessly.

He enveloped her in his strong arms, unable to contain himself from laughing out loud at his lover's reaction. "Come on, princess. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Shut up! There is!" That came out in muffles due to her burying her face in his chest.

"No, there isn't, Celest."

She glanced up at him, pouting. "Yes, there _is_!"

"No, there _isn't_."

"I hate you!"

"Love you too."

That was usually how their playful bickering would end. Earning a glowing smile from the female Spartan, Jun leaned in for a quick peck on her forehead. "Hey, I wanted to ask - are you still thinking about getting that tattoo? It'll look great below the ones you have."

She ran two fingers over the one on the left-side of his face. "This is the baddest tattoo I'll ever see in my life, but nah. I don't think so. It holds more significance to you."

"It was just a triple kill during training, princess."

"I'm talking about the arrows."

Jun gave what appeared to be a solemn smile at that.

"You love your dad. Those arrows are a beautiful way to honor him and his archery skills. I can always get something else. In fact, I was thinking of that skull Emile helped crave onto my armor's chestplate."

"Now _that's _badass. Go for it." He said.

"Totally. Jun?" She called out softly, after a brief silence, capturing his bright blue eyes. "One last kiss? Please? And make it last?" She asked oh-so innocently, her hands snaked up to the back of his neck to hold him close.

There was no way he could deny a chance to taste those soft lips of hers once more. Especially when it was quite possibly going to be the last time for the next few years. So he tucked her left-sided fringe behind her ear, gave her a brief smirk before lowering his lips onto hers. He smiled into the kiss when he felt her melt in his arms. It definitely filled his chest with pure bliss.

Neither of them wanted to pull away, but the need for air was too great. If they had it their way, they wouldn't break the kiss for something as trivial as air.

"I love you. I'm _always _going to love you. Just..." Celestina attempted to find the right words to finish it off. "Thanks for an awesome ride."

That was when she placed something into his hand and closed his fist for him. Jun obviously opened up his fist to see the mysterious object she had given her. They were dog tags, still with its chains, and it dawned upon him whose they were. "Celest, no."

"Just take it."

"I can't. It's not right!"

"I'll just say I lost them or something. Hell if I care!" She closed his fist once more, this time with both hands and kept them there. "It's the only possession I have. You can take it. It's okay."

"Celest,a holo-still of us is more than enough. It's all I'll ever need!"

She then smiled as if she had given up on this debate. "Jun. _Really. _It's okay. I _want _you to have it. I don't need it because I _don't _want to continue active duty anymore."

He gaped slightly at that.

"You're totally right. Being a Spartan was never supposed to be in my future. There's only so much my heart and mind can handle. I _want _to get better, sweetie. And to do that? I don't think I should be in situations where the people I love and care for _die_ around me."

"Well... I'm glad you see it my way. At least you'll get the help you need," He reached up and cupped her cheeks as well as her red hair. "And don't worry. I _know _we'll see each other again one day."

Her hazel eyes sparkled at that. "Promise?"

"Promise. Take care, princess." And with that, he pressed one final kiss onto her forehead.

* * *

**A/N: Celestina's goodbye as well as the first appearance of Death! Hope you like and do leave a little review! :D  
**

**The next chapter is gonna be intense. Stay tuned! **


	22. In Ruins

**Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base, Mars**  
**December 31th, 2552**  
**12:38am**

_"Hey there, princess. First of all, s dnem rozhdeniya (happy birthday)! I made sure to have this be automatically sent to you on your birthday, just in case I wouldn't be able to make it back to the base in time. It's currently... the 1st of November and the Innies here are giving us hell. But don't worry, it's nothing we can't handle! We'll be leaving for Azelia town tomorrow so hence the birthday video. I hope you enjoy your day. The twins say happy birthday too! Tell Nick I said hi and to watch out for you. It's been a year since Phantom split and I still miss us all being together. And yes, I especially miss my principessa (princess). Sure hope I said that right, ha ha! Anyways, take good care of yourself. Make sure you eat well and get lots of sleep. Don't overexert yourself while training. And as always, I love you. Talk to you soon."_

After that dreadful encounter, sleep was no longer an option for the former Spartan-III. Instead, Celestina stayed behind her work desk, watching countless of old video messages that she had exchanged with Jun over the years. It was all too painful and she found that her tears were falling even without her blinking.

She knew that it was sheer torture. However, just like the hallucination said, it was also _punishment_. Punishment for not being able to save the people she could've saved. Punishment for not telling Jun and all the others how much they meant to her.

Maybe that hallucination of Jun, of Emile, of her brother and sister, Caden and Christine, and so many others were right. _Why not end it all?_

She stopped herself from continuing any further. _No! Stop it, Celest! Don't think like that! You can't think like that! It's going to be okay!_

She casted her gaze up to her collection of holo-stills, and for a split second thought to herself: _Will it?_

* * *

**11:30am**

"Are you nervous, my little Spartan?"

"Hella nervous," Jun admitted through a sigh. "3 years is a long time, Death. And without communication too."

After meeting with another potential recruit, Edward Davis, right here in Starwave Base, it was time for Jun and Death to make their way to Celestina's office. They were informed that she had just ended a training session for the marines stationed there and was most likely in her office. Jun couldn't be more excited yet anxious to see her once again. Death was just about ready to squeal with joy.

"Come now, Jun," From sitting on his carrier's shoulder, the AI instead stood before him, life-sized, so he could adjust Jun's tie for him. "Straighten your tie and give her a wide smile! She will appreciate it!"

"Thanks for the help," He said dryly. "But alright. Here goes nothing."

Celestina was resting on her officer's leather sofa, reading her data pad. Reading news articles were one way for her to take her mind off the horrible things that she was going through. She had a therapy session scheduled tomorrow but she was wondering how the hell was all of this therapy and medication going to help her now that she had relapsed. She was doing everything she could to not listen to the cruel words of all those hallucinations, especially when they tell her to kill herself to stop the pain. Yet, she would not. She would _not _give in. She knew that she _needed _to be _strong_. "Strength", after all, was one of her tattoos located on her right forearm.

_Knock, knock, knock. _

It appeared as if she had a visitor. Her mind relayed to her the possibilities, but never in a million years would she have predicted _this _man. "Come on in!"

Reading the command, the door slid to an open and the last surviving member of Noble Team walked in, dressed in a black suit and tie.

Celestina's features hardened.

Poor Jun had absolutely no clue of what Celestina had been through for the past few months. Right now, he was silenced by the sight of the woman he'd known for 22 years and how damn _good _it felt to see her face again.

"Celestina?" He called out, as if he could not believe one second of this moment.

She very slowly rose to her feet, preparing herself for any tricks that this hallucination might bring her.

"Oh my God..." He glanced at her from head to toe; her once shoulder-length deep-red hair as now just below her shoulders. She wore a black hoodie jacket, underneath it a bright red tank top to compliment her hair, a pair of fitting black slacks and lastly, a pair of polished black flat boots. In his eyes right now, she was... flawless. "Wow. You look beautiful!"

"Wow. I really gotta give props to you for originality. A suit and tie? You're practically dressed to _kill_. In more ways than one."

His smiled disappeared like smoke. "... What?"

It was the same with Death, who was still safe in his data clip in Jun's bracelet._"What?"_

"And the best part is? It hasn't even been 24 hours since the last time! Either you get off on my pain or I'm just _this much closer_ to losing it completely. Well, let me tell you something, you little _bitch_. I know what your game is. It's the same with everybody else! I _know _what all of you are trying to do! But it's not going to work! I am _not _going to put a bullet through my head! I'm staying _right here_ and if I have to fight you for it, I will!"

_"This is not good." _Death thought to himself.

"Let's try something, shall we?" Celestina plopped her data pad onto the sofa. "You and I haven't been acting like mature adults in the last few months. Why don't we just talk? Hm? Sound good? Nobody has to get hurt."

"Celest, I... have no idea what's going on..." The dumbfounded second-in-charge of the Spartan-IV program said.

She titled her head at him, smirking. "Oh, you like this, don't you? The mind games? The innocent act before you tear into me? I learned my lesson from the very first time you tried this shit with me!"

_"__Oh dear..." _Death was now unwilling to make an appearance, knowing that it could do pretty much anything to Celestina's psyche. _"I __believe this is what you call a mental breakdown..." _

Now Jun's forehead creased with worry. What the hell was going on? Why was Celestina acting and talking like this? "Celest, _please_. I really don't know what you're talking about! Why are you acting like this?"

She let her head hang and released a sigh at the same time. Then, she fished out her sidearm from the holster attached to her right thigh.

"Celest-!"

"You PROBABLY think that this is hilarious, don't you? Showin' up and acting all innocent and loving?" She questioned, her voice tainted with irritation. "But tell me, which was funnier? Doing this or when you tried to strangle me to death?"

Jun gaped at her in major disbelief at the mention of that.

"Or when you punched me in the face and tossed me over my own desk? Or maybe it's when you tried to get me to commit suicide yesterday!"

Jun was getting a little overwhelmed by all of this. "Celest, you _know _that I will _never _put my hands on you for _whatever _reason! I just don't unders-"

It then hit him like a ton of bricks.

_Oh no. No, no. _"Celest, listen to me. _Please_. It's not what you think it is. I'm _not _a hallucination!"

She held back a laugh at that remark, lifting her Magnum to causally scratch the side of her head. "How about you come up with some new material, baby? That line's getting old."

"Listen to me, princess-"

That name set off something in her and she raised her gun at him in a flash, scowling resentfully at him for even saying that. "_Don't. Call me. That. _How many times do I _have _to TELL you?! That's Jun's pet name for me! So only _he _gets to call me that! He's _dead _but you still DON'T have any Goddamn right when you're a figment of my imagination!"

Dead? She thought that he was dead? So that's why all of this was happening? This was bad. Really bad, and Jun knew it was all up to him to convince her otherwise. "No, _no_, Celest. You've got it wrong! I'm not dead! I survived Reach! Sure, I was missing for about 3 weeks but that's because I was kidnapped by the Covenant!"

"Damn, you're good. You could've been a great actor."

"It's the truth, princess." He told her gently.

"No!" She suddenly screeched, scaring him. "No, the truth is that the man who's been looking out for me since I was 6 is gone! The man who was _so _unusually disciplined and followed the rules, but did everything he could to keep his unauthorized relationship a secret! The man who told me that _he loved me_... He was taken from me unfairly!"

Celestina could feel all of the pent-up pain and agony in her chest, just begging to come out. Brand new tears formed in her eyes and she struggled to keep her aim on Jun. "It's not _fair_! When we met, I was _broken _to the core. We _both _were. But you covered it up with jokes and smiles and giggles and dedicating all of your time and attention to me, to help _me _because I wasn't strong like you. You _saved _me, Jun. You saved me from wanting to kill myself because I was missing my family _so damn much. _For so long, I thought I made a mistake joining the Spartans because I wasn't built for it. I truly wasn't but you made it worth staying and living for! So much was taken from me but you-you made me _whole _again!"

This whole scene was tugging at Jun's heartstrings. Despite all the years of training, he could not prevent himself from tearing up at this.

Celestina had already began sobbing midway through her earlier sentences and she could not help it. She had never said all of this to any of the hallucinations of Jun before. Perhaps it was finally time to. "You were the _only_ thing I had to call family. You _and _Emile. And now _he_'s gone! So are _you_! But why? Tell me why?! WHY is it that I have to be alone in this world? With you, I was _so _happy, even before we got together. I just wanted us to last forever, was that _so wrong_? And you promised. You _promised _me that we'd see each other again," She then gave him a teary smile. "But sweetie, you made me a promise you couldn't keep. And it's okay! I know you tried! And I wish, I _really _wished I could've seen you _one last time _and tell you how much I love you and thank you for looking out for me the way you did. But it's all over now. Everyone's gone and even..." Her broken voice got out the next statement, even though it proved to be difficult. "Even at the end of it all, I can't even have _you_..."

There was no way Jun could prevent that one tear from falling. "Celest..."

"You were right though," She then said. "I _am _in a lot of pain and misery. I could take the easy way out but I'm too weak for that. Not anymore." Now, she pointed the gun _to her head_.

That was the moment when his heart nearly stopped. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Celest, don't! _Please_!" He cried out in utter panic, taking a few steps towards her, although it prompted her to move back until she hit her desk. So he maintained his distance, but kept his hands up in an attempt to persuade her not to do anything hasty. "Please, don't do this! _Please_, I'm begging you!" The thought of her pulling that trigger right in front of him - it was causing him so much more distress and tears. He hadn't teared up this much since New Harmony. "Listen to me! Do you remember the day we met?"

She shot him a confused glare but kept her Magnum at her head.

_"Memories? That just might work, Jun. Go for it!" _Death cheered on.

"I know I'll never forget that day. You and I were in the same pelican to paradrop. It was your turn to jump and that trainer was being a dick. So I asked if we could jumped together and we did. And when we landed, we introduced ourselves and I said something to you. What was it?" He asked, desperate to have her lower that gun.

Celestina remained silent, although she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Come on, Celest. I know you know."

Her hand was practically trembling with hesitation, yet she managed to answer his question. "You... you said that my name was something you'd give to a princess. And then you asked me... if I was a princess."

Jun forced a smile at that and another tear fell. "That's right. And I know I'll never forget the day you told me you loved me. I told you that I was the lucky one. Remember?"

"... Yes..."

"Or what about all those undercover missions you had to take?"

"... You hated them. You hated that I was always in a dangerous position..."

To him, it felt like he was getting through to her. He sure hoped so, because the next step was to get that Magnum out of her hands.

"Celestina," He called out, grabbing her attention. "Noble is gone. Every single one of them. Everyone I've known is gone too and it _sucks_. Except for you, princess. I got you again. " He managed a real smile this time. "I kept my promise, didn't I? I told you that we'd see each other again and here we are! Sorry it took so long though but hey, I'm not complaining because look at you," Little by little, he made his way to her. "You're beautiful."

_Why is he being so sincere? It's always taunts and cruel words and violence... How can it be? __Is... is it possible? Is he _really _here? In front of me?_

"I made it, even though I wasn't supposed to. Since I did and since you're here, it can be you and me once more. And Celest, it's all I want." In an insanely slow pace, Jun reached forward and gripped her Magnum to lower it. "You said you wanted to have me. Here I am."

She released the sidearm, allowing Jun full access to it. He tossed it over to her leather sofa, relieved to have it away from her head.

He took her right hand and placed it onto his left cheek, just where his tattoo was. "See? It feels real, doesn't it?"

It most definitely did, but it was the same with all of the hallucinations. How could this be any different? "But... they all were..." She did not move her hand away though.

Upon hearing that, he instinctively raised his hands up to her cheeks. "What about this, princess? You can't tell me _this _doesn't feel real to you."

_Oh my. It does. _

Celestina was bewildered by how tantalizingly familiar his touch felt. It was absolutely _nothing _like the hallucinations. Not at all. Just like their behavior, it would usually be ice-cold like a frozen lake.

"Oh my God..." She managed to get out after recovering for this realization.

"Hey there, princess." He greeted with all his heart.

She struggled with a smile due to what had just went down, but eventually managed to get one out. "H-hi." That was when she threw herself into his arms, hers wrapped around his neck to hold him so close that they both wouldn't be able to breathe. "Hi...!"

He was more than willing to reciprocate her killer hug. He had done it. Jun had managed to snap her out of it and prevent her from doing the unthinkable. It was such a horrifying situation and he hoped to never go through such a thing ever again. Shadow Team, Noble Team, everyone was gone. There was no way he could afford to lose his princess.

As he hugged her, he let just one last tear stream down his cheek.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! They've been reunited! XD  
**


	23. Reunited

**Location: Celestina's office, Starwave Base, Mars**  
**December 31st, 2552**  
**11:46am**

Death hugged his beloved as-tall-as-him scythe hold to his chest as he waited patiently outside of Celestina's office for Jun. Without a face, nobody could tell that he was extremely upset right now.

Jun exited Celestina's office, wanting to let her calm down for a while before he would return to her. He noticed Death's body language, the way he held his scythe and hung his head low. "Are you okay, Death?"

Taking in a deep breath and letting it go, Death shook his head. "Telling lies is not one of my strongest traits, Jun."

"What's wrong, buddy?" Jun questioned serenely, upon hearing such a confession from his AI for the first time.

"I should have found her sooner."

Jun hated to admit it, but during the entire ordeal, he had forgotten that his AI was right there with him, witnessing the whole thing. "Death..."

"If I had, we could have visited her sooner. She would not have to go through all of the pain that took almost 3 years to heal. We would not have to witness..." He timidly turned his head to her door. "That. It was horrifying. I could practically _feel _the pain in each word she spoke. She claims to not be strong, but she is very wrong, my dear boy. Only a strong person can withstand what she carries."

He could easily hear the fear in Death's tone. Something was definitely not right. "Death, where are you going with this?"

"Jun, when I was born, some of the memories I inherited from you were the _bad _ones and I told you I locked them away yes? Well... I foolishly presumed that that would be it. That there would be nothing else to bury. However now... I would have to bury _that_. Lady Celestina's breakdown deeply troubled me, Jun, and I cannot fully comprehend why."

"Death," Jun sat one hand on Death's shoulder, prompting him to look at his carrier. "You were created from me. While you don't have all of my memories, you have enough to know that I care about Celestina very much. So it's only natural that you would care about her too and feel upset to have seen her like that. But Death, she's going to be okay now. Really. And so will you. You can get past this. Do whatever you need to do. Okay?" He certainly felt like he was talking to a little child at that point, but it mattered none to him. Death, after all, was family.

Death gave what looked a reluctant nod, but he was being sincere. "Alright."

"Now come on. Let's go say hi."

* * *

Celestina switched off her desktop computer and watched as the holographic screen disintegrated into nothing when the door to her office slide to an open. Jun entered once again, sporting a smile. "Celest? There's someone I'd love for you to meet."

Celestina was making her way around her desk when Death made his grand appearance in a mist of sage-green. She gasped in utter amazement at the sight of the AI. "You have your own AI?"

"He was created for work purposes." Jun said.

"That's awesome!" The bright smile she was famous for returned to her face, making Jun exceedingly happy at the moment. "Hi there!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Come on, buddy," Jun titled his head at him. "Doesn't appearing like that make you strain your neck?" He asked, taking them back to the day they first met.

"How right you are," Death said. "Pardon me, my lady, but this just will not do. You two are _far _too tall." With that, he activated his special ability to appear life-sized.

Another gasp left the female Spartan. "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude. You've got to be kidding me!"

"Not at all. I am just _that _talented," He informed with a hint of cheekiness in his tone. "Lady Celestina," He held his hand out, to which Celestina gave him hers. "It is an honor to finally meet you. I am Death."

"Hi, Death. It's nice to meet you too! I hope you've been taking good care of this Spartan." She glanced at Jun.

"But of course, Lady Celestina!" Death said enthusiastically. "If I do not, he will just fall apart, and I will just panic."

"Wow, you two have the same sense of humor! And... accent," She added, after a brief realization. "Take away all the huskiness and you'll get the voice too..."

"Oh, you mean the sexy accent?" Death questioned, seemingly messing with her.

Her hazel eyes widened with pure shock and not to mention embarrassment. "Well... it doesn't take a genius to figure out _who _you were created from."

"So now, it's a matter of choice_ who _has the sexier accent, Celest."

"Don't do this to me now, Jun," Celestina glared at him in a kittenish manner.

"Ah, young love," Death remarked, looking at them respectively. "Well, I do not wish to intrude. The both of you have plenty to talk about! I shall disappear and bury myself in work and leave you two lovebirds alone." He turned back to Celestina once more. "A pleasure once again, Lady Celestina. You take care now."

"You too, Death." She said with all her heart, unable to contain her smile at the awesomeness that is Jun's personal AI.

The faceless AI vanished in a green fog, leaving the two former Spartan-IIIs alone. Neither of them knew what to say at first, but then only one word left Celestina's lips. "You."

"Pardon?"

"You told me to choose which of you has the sexier accent," Flashing a devilish smirk, she then made her way to her leather sofa and took a seat. "I choose you."

Jun returned the smirk and sat down on the sofa right beside her. "Well, it was never really a competition, princess."

"Don't ever stop calling me that." She requested with pleading eyes.

He took her left hand and clasped it tightly. "I'll do whatever you want me to, princess."

Celestina gave him an apologetic look. "I really wish you hadn't seen that. I'm so sorry I pointed a gun at you. I _really _thought you were a hallucination!"

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Celest,"

"Well..." Her hazel eyes shifted to her door. "I _sorta_ have to apologize to my door."

Confused, Jun turned his head just enough to see what appeared to be a bullet hole in her door. "What happened?"

Intimidation was all over her face at that point and he could easily see it. "I'd... rather not say."

"Celest, come on. You _know _you can talk to me."

"But you won't like what I have to say."

There was only reason why she would say something like that, but Jun himself hated to say it. "Does it something to do with what you were saying earlier? About me... doing those horrible things to you?"

"That's why I don't want to say anything. You'll feel bad, even when it's so not your fault."

This time, he held that one hand of hers with two hands. "You know you need to tell me."

She really didn't want to, but she also knew that Jun wanted to help her in any way he can. Just like the old days. "Um... It happened yesterday. That hallucination of you tried to get me to commit suicide. So I shot it." Celestina said, unable to look him in the eyes.

_Oh wow. _"Celest, the suicidal tendencies... They stopped after you were, what, 10? Why again?"

She reached up and ran her hand past his left cheek. "I guess it's probably to do with hearing that the only two remaining family members I had dying."

_Emile. _"I would have loved for him to be here too, Celest. It's been... difficult." With that, he looked away.

His entire team had been eradicated. She knew exactly how horrible he might be feeling. "Sweetie, talk to me," She placed her other hand over theirs. "How've you been handling it all?"

"Well, where do I start?"

"Wherever you want."

"I'll tell you everything. It's about time I stop trying to bury most of everything I go through." The only other two people who knew what went down were his therapist and of course, Death. He wouldn't leave Celestina out of it though. He knew, at some point, he would have to inform her of everything that had happened these past few months. So he breathed in and exhaled heavily. "You know Doctor Halsey?"

"Who doesn't?" She said humorlessly.

"This was after... we lost Jorge and Kat. Carter instructed me to escort her to CASTLE base. When we go there, there was already ODSTs securing the area. Less than a few hours later, the Covenant showed up; we think they might have followed us there. It was a massacre, Celest. All of the ODSTs were killed. It was only me and the doc left. By then, I'd already gotten my ass kicked good but at least nothing fell into enemy hands. I told her to shut the doors to the base while I would do whatever I could to make sure nobody else would find her. I didn't know what I could do or how to do it but... survival wasn't a choice for me at that point. I used the pelican we arrived in to cause a little distraction, to throw them off and it worked. Most of the forces were converging towards me. I don't know where exactly on Reach did I crash-land but there sure was one hell of a welcome party. A Hunter knocked me out cold and I have no idea for how long. When I woke up... I was in a Covenant ship, I didn't know what kind," He looked down at their hands, unable to find the strength to look her in the eyes. "They were torturing me."

Celestina didn't say a word, but instead, she gasped extremely softly, stunned.

"Somehow, they managed to remove some of the armor plating and... I didn't tell them a damn thing. Well, except to go screw themselves."

At this point, he was unknowingly playing with her hands. "The next thing I knew, I was on a Phantom, being taken to God knows where. That's when it ran into trouble with a Longsword. Even with all the injuries I sustained, I managed to take control of the Phantom while the crew was in disarray. When I stepped into the Longsword, I passed out instantly but at least I was going home. I was at Liongsong Medical Facility since September 19th."

"17th."

Jun finally made eye contact with her again, and found that she had new tears in her eyes. "Sorry?"

"I searched for Noble Team's status on the 17th. By then, Reach had already fallen, and there was just _so many _rumors... I had to see it for myself. It listed _all _of you as MIA," She was a little abashed to mentioned it the next part. "I checked the Spartan database for the first time since then just now. You're listed as WIA." She then simpered at that. "My bad. Guess I overreacted." She wiped away a tear that had fallen unintentionally.

He shook his head at that, though her reaction made him grin a little. "You were basically cut off from everything you ever knew, Celest, and it was for your protection. You couldn't have known that I would have made it."

"_Reeeeeeeally _wish I did. If not, there would've been a bullet in either one of us, courtesy of yours not-so truly..."

"Celestina..." He warned in a playful tone.

"Okay, fine, I'll stop!" She held her both of her hands in truce. "You get serious when you use my full name."

For that, she received a chuckle.

"Jun? Why WIA?" She questioned. "Is it... what I think it is?"

Probably one of her worst fears came through at that point when he nodded his head grudgingly. "When I was found, I was... broken, Celest. In more ways than one. There was also psychological damage, not just physical."

"Psychological...?" Hearing it so much herself, Celestina almost hated it.

"I kept... having nightmares about what the Covenant did to me. About how Kat's death was so tortuously familiar to Sally's. A lot of things I never thought I would never dream of ever again."

"Tyumen."

"Tyumen was definitely one of them," He confirmed with a painful lump in his throat. "I was told about Noble. After which, I... had to be sedated."

"Oh, Jun..."

"I guess it was all too much to handle. I didn't speak for about a week after the news. I _didn't _want to speak," He admitted to her. "I kept a little journal to help me with my thoughts. And it truly worked. But I was still discharged from the program, and maybe it was for the best." He was met with another caress at his left cheek.

"Well, you're safe now, sweetie."

"I know," Jun placed his hand over hers. "Having Death around made me feel safer than I've ever felt in a long time. And..." This time, he made sure to look at her in her hazel eyes instead of looking away. "While I was in captivity, it was _unimaginable _but... but then I remembered your song."

"You mean the lullaby Caden would sing to me. 'Hero'?" That song meant the world to her and only Jun knew of it.

He nodded at that. "Definitely brought me a lot of comfort during that time. And now that you're here too? Everything's even better now."

How he loved seeing that smile on her flawless face once again. He had missed it so much. "I'm so glad to hear that, Jun! I mean, look at you! Better watch out, sweetie, you could get arrested for being too damn good-looking in this suit."

"Ironically, Death predicated that you would say something like that."

"Dude was created from you. Of course he'd know a thing or two about how I roll," She said, raising her eyebrows. "But seriously though, what's with the suit? You did all this just to see my face?" She remarked with a smirk.

He shrugged his shoulders at that. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't?"

"Come on. Tell me!"

The news would definitely put another spring in her step. "Around the time I was rescued, there were plans for the Spartan-IV program. I was recruited as the second-in-charge."

She gawked at him upon hearing that. "NO WAY."

"Yes way."

"Jun, that's _amazing_!" She squealed uncontrollably, leaning forward to give him a hug. "And you're _just _the right person for it too!"

"Thanks so much, princess," He thanked her with all all his heart, patting her on the back. "It's a good job too." He said as they pulled away. "Death took a while to find your location and when he did, we found another potential recruit right here in your base. Gave me an excuse to see this face." He cupped her left cheek lovingly, stroking it with his thumb.

"I'll bet!"

It was then that it dawned upon him he didn't mention the newest thing about her. He used the same hand to ran it through her now mid-back hair. "You grew out your hair!"

Her cheeks immediately flushed at that. "Yeah, I did... You like it?"

It was hard to say; he was so used to seeing her in her shoulder-length hair. "Uhhh..."

"I'll take that as a big-ass no. I'll cut it when I can."

"Come on, princess, I didn't mean it that way."

"It's okay, actually! Having longer hair is kind of a pain. I tend to get lazy when it's time to wash my hair."

They shared a hearty laugh at that, getting lost in the moment and forgetting about whatever that had just transpired.

"Jun," Celestina called out, albeit nervous to continue. "I'm so happy to see you're okay. I've missed you for the last 3 years. Part of me always worried that after so long and without communication, you'd start to feel differently about me. I mean, I can see that that's not the case but-"

She was cut off by a hard kiss to her lips, one that was sudden but she certainly was not fighting off. It appeared to her that Jun wanted to prove that his feelings for her had not changed and that they never will.

It was one hell of a way to show it.

* * *

**A/N: Yay for happy times!  
**

**Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay tuned for the next chapter. :) **


	24. Proposition

**Location: ****Vehicle Bay****, Starwave Base, Mars  
December 31****st****, 2552  
****1:52pm **

"Death and I can make up a story to stay longer, Celest. It's no issue."

"Now you can't leave Musa alone to train all those future Spartans. That's your job!"

The vehicles bay in Starwave Base was where the two former Spartan-IIIs were at the moment, what with Jun needing to head back to Hydra Base. The bay was silent at the moment, with just a few technicians either working on UNSC vehicles or loading and unloading cargo. Jun and Celestina stood at the back of the Transport Warthog, the one that was waiting for Jun.

"Jun," Celestina dragged in a manner he found super adorable. "It's okay. I'm gonna be okay now. You're back and it makes me feel like I've got a big piece of me back too."

"I'm sure Emile would have loved to be here too, Celest, but you know how he doesn't fear death," He said a little solemnly, clasping one of her hands. "I'm sure he went down like a true Spartan," That's when he ran one hand behind her head. "But he would have loved to see how well his little sister is."

She gave him her traditional sweet smile. "And he would've loved the tattoo as well?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "What tattoo?"

Celestina lifted her left arm up and rolled up the sleeve of the hoodie jacket to reveal a new tattoo below her wrist - it was of a skull wearing a crown. The crown was actually in reference to Jun calling her 'princess' all the time.

"Wow, you actually did it!"

"I know! Showed the artist how it looked on my armor and this was the end result!"

"Emile worked hard on it for your birthday. I know for a fact he would have loved it."

"So do I," She said with a little sigh, before capturing his gaze once more. "I'm really happy that you're in a good position now, sweetie, despite everything. The nightmares will stop soon, I know it. It takes time, that's all."

"I know, princess. At least I've got an extra ear to complain to."

"You can tell me anything and at anytime, Jun," She told him pleasantly as she held both of his hands one more. "You know where to find me now."

"And I'm glad I have a genius for an AI for that." He remarked with a hint of sly humor in his voice. "Oh, and I have something for you,"

"Ooh, a present? My birthday was last month!" She said ebulliently.

"Consider it a late present and also a Christmas present?"

"Sure, why not?"

Jun reached into the inner pocket of his suit, drug around and found the object. "Made sure I held onto it," He opened up her fist and placed the mysterious item into her palm. "Fought tooth and nail with the Covenant to keep it."

Celestina held her breath at the sight of it, unable to believe she was staring at it after 3 years. "My dog tags...? Jun, you still kept them!"

"And now they have to be returned to their owner," He then balled her hand into a fist with the dog tags in them.

Her hazel eyes sparkled with major happiness by his gesture. "Thank you," The appreciation seeped through her tone. "Happy New Year, Jun."

"Happy New Year, princess."

* * *

**Location: ****Sniper Training Bay, ****Starwave Base  
****January 15th, 2553****  
****11:02am **

"Yeah, I know! I'm sorry that training took longer than it was supposed to! Some of them really needed to improve further if they actually want to specialize in sniping. But don't worry! I just need to check and make sure all of this rifles are just the way they were before training started and I'll be out of your hair!" The Head Trainer of Starwave Base grunted in an apologetic manner as she hurried from sniper rifle to sniper rifle, all of which were lined up before their targets. Once Celestina heard the doors to the Sniper Training Bay open, she was still inspecting each rifle, not letting herself take a peep at the person who walked in.

"Oh, don't worry a thing, princess,"

She froze at that nickname and accent, yet managed to turn her head to the direction of that voice.

The second-in-charge of the newly-formed Spartan Branch ran one hand over his scalp. "As you can see, it won't be a problem."

Celestina appeared as if she had seen a ghost - a ghost she was surprised to see, though. "Jun!" She squealed in utter excitement, not giving a damn about the magazine of a Sniper Rifle. Instead, she ran over to Jun and practically threw herself into his arms. "Oh my gosh!"

He caught her flawlessly, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. "Hey there, princess!"

"Hiiii!" Jun had never seen her this happy before and it was such a wonderful thing to witness. "This is such a nice surprise! You never told me you were coming down here!"

"That's the whole point of it being a surprise, Celest,"He told her with a little smirk as he pulled back to see her face.

She was grinning from ear to ear at this point. "Well, it's one hell of a surprise! You know, with 145 Spartans, I'd have expected you to be more busy!"

"Damn straight, but I have another reason for coming down here, not only just to see your beautiful face."

"Oh? And what's that?"

Jun wrapped one arm around the back of her neck and they walked further into the bay. "You hungry? We can discuss it over an early lunch."

"I'd love to!" That was when she noticed her unfinished work with the Sniper Rifles. "Except that I have to finish checking out the rifles before they can be used later..." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, your superhero's here to help."

"You're a doll!" She thanked and patted his chest. "Oh by the way, there's this _amazing _Italian restaurant in the city near the base. The pasta there? JUST like the one my mom used to make!"

"Mama Devon's famous pasta, I take it?"

"DAMN STRAIGHT."

* * *

**Location: Bernado's Pizzeria  
11:47am**

"So you said that other than seeing my face, you had another reason for coming here. _And _without my favorite AI."

"I believe I said 'beautiful face', Celest,"

"Yes, you did." Celestina returned the cheeky smile.

"I needed Death to hold down the fort while I was here on this very special mission," Jun then sat down the glass of wine. "I have a proposition for you, princess."

Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion upon hearing that. "A proposition. For me."

"Yes, princess," He leaned over, his fingers entwined with each other on the table. "As you mentioned before, 145 Spartans means that I'm busy as hell. So Death decided to do something about it. He suggested to Musa that I not do both the recruiting _and _the training, even though we've got some of the IIs and IIIs integrated into the branch to help with the training. Instead of having to worry about so many things, he suggested I get a Head Trainer to handle the training portion of the branch."

"A 'Head Trainer'? That's... actually a _great _idea! I mean, you've got to run around and find recruits, oversee the augmentations, oversee their training... At least this one portion of the branch will be taken over by someone else, giving you some space to breathe a little. Death's a genius! Tell him I said that!" She told him enthusiastically.

"Will do," He love how she couldn't notice the big stupid smile he had on his face as they had this discussion.

"So what does this have to do with me?" She questioned as she picked up her own glass of wine.

"Celestina," He called out in an appalled manner. "I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet!"

She brought the glass to her lip and was about to take sip when she halted her action. If she had widened her eyes any bigger, her hazel eyes would have popped right out. "ME?"

"It was Death who gave your name and I immediately backed him up," Jun continued on, with his best efforts to fight back a laugh due to her reaction. "Musa checked you out and was impressed with your record."

"_My _record? Are you serious?" Celestina made it sound as if it was a bad thing. "What with all of those psych evals and the _reason why _I'm in this base in the first place..."

"Celest," Jun started out in a calming manner to assure that it was not such a big deal as she perceived it to be. "You've got the second highest number of confirmed sniper kills in all of Alpha. Almost every infiltration mission you've been in or led, it's a success. And let's not forget every single uncover mission you've undertaken - every one of them were a major success. Plus, you've already been cured from your PTSD and you're doing _even _better despite the last few months."

"You'd still be better off with a Spartan-II..." She muttered, looking down at her plate.

"I don't _want _a Spartan-II, I want you."

She caught his eyes, thought she was pouting just a little.

"You're _good_, Celest. _Really _good. Hell, Ambrose thought so and that's why you were able to achieve everything I just said. You're good enough that at least ONI had the brains to know that it would be a waste to have you be stuck behind a desk after your discharge," He then held out his hand to her, which she instantly took without a second thought. "I would consider it an honor to have you be in charge of training all of these recruits. One of your best traits is that you're really easy to get along with because you're so kind to everyone. Everyone will love you, I know it. And well..." He almost looked embarrassed to admit this next part. "_Obviously_... I miss you and would love to work with you again. I mean, sure, we have communications and all but-"

"Yes."

"Sorry?"

She squeezed his hand a little tighter to emphasize her point. "I wanna be your Head Trainer."

"Wow," A bright grin came to him. "Just like that? I mean, you have a life here and everything."

She had her own grin as well. "Jun, I'll... be honest. It's nice here, I'll admit it. But... I'm not _happy. _Sure, I have some good friends here. I train the soldiers that get posted to this base, polish up their style, teaching them some of my own skills. After training, I get to head out to the city and enjoy the sights and sounds of Chicago, but it's not what I want. Sweetie, our lives are so messed up that I don't even _know _what the meaning of being happy is! But when you walked in today, I knew that you were what I needed! Jun, _you're _the key to my happiness so I want to stay next to you, wherever that may be. And plus, _I'm _so honored that you and Death thought that _I _was suitable for this position! It's _such _a huge deal!"

"I'm tellin' you, you are," He gave her his other hand to hold. "Wait until we've reestablished contact with Camp Currahee too. Ambrose will think that we made the right choice picking you."

"And I know he'd be _proud _to see that you're the overall second-in-charge. Are you going to ask him to join the branch too?"

"Definitely. If it's okay with him, he'll be working under you."

She pulled a horrified face at that. "Wait, so that means I don't get to call him 'boss' anymore?"

"I'd... suppose it would be the other way around now...?" Kurt Ambrose was the first person she had called 'boss' and he had found it adorable ever since. If any of her other superiors were cool with it, they would get the nickname of 'boss' too.

"Ohhhhhhh, that's gonna be awkward..."

Jun gave her a soft chuckle for that. "Oh, and you don't have to worry about your position here, Celest. I'll make sure to get someone just as qualified."

"That's nice to know! Thank you so much, Jun!" She reached over to pick up her glass of wine. "I wanna make a toast. To the Spartans."

He immediately lifted up his wine glass as well. "To the Spartans."


	25. The AI and the Head Trainer

**Location: Celestina's private dorms, ****Hydra Base, Mars****  
February 18****th****, 2553  
10:34pm**

Another busy and tiring, yet fruitful day for the Head Trainer of the Spartan Branch. There was nothing better than laying on the bed, data pad and a glass of wine in hand on this rainy night in Chicago. The weather report Celestina was reading about on her data pad predicted that it was going to be raining for the next couple of days. She was glad to hear that; it could cool some things off.

She picked up a soft beep and it had came from the little AI console she had on her nightstand. It was Death, Jun's personal AI, requesting to access the console for an unknown reason.

She had never turned down her friend for anything. So she reached over and hit a button, and the AI popped up in mist of sage-green.

"Hi, Death!" She greeted with a cheery smile. "What's up?"

"Pardon me, Lady Celestina. I hope I was not interrupting anything." Death apologized with a little bow.

"Not at all, Death. Just reading about the weather."

"I have... desperately wanted to speak to you about something for a while, Lady Celestina. With Jun asleep right now, I find that this is the best time for me to speak to you."

The AI definitely sounded secretive about it all. "What's going on, Death?"

Death drummed his fingers on his scythe as he spoke. "It's about Jun, Lady Celestina. And I believe you are the only one who can assist him. Will you?"

Upon hearing that, Celestina placed her data pad aside on the bed and turned her full body to the console. "Of course, Death. I'd do anything for him. Tell me, what's going on with him?"

"As you know, he has endured a lot since July of last year. Losing Thom and all members of Noble Team, and of course, there was the Covenant capture."

She saddened at that, but nodded. "Yeah."

"However, I am afraid there is more,"

That was something she didn't want to hear. "More?"

"As you also aware off, Lady Celestina, he is unable to continue active duty due to the extent of his injuries, as well as the psychological damage done. However, he _has _been doing his rehabilitation without fail. Yet, he refuses to engage in hand-to-hand combat with me."

"Hand-to-hand combat? As in, he... doesn't want to engage in close quarters assault?"

"Be it with fists or combat knives," Death continued on. For the next statement, he heaved a big sigh. "I have a bad feeling that he does not have any faith in his combat skills anymore."

Celestina tilted her head at the AI, giving him a little laugh. "That's silly, Death. He was there on _Infinity _when Zane and her creeps tried to hijack the ship. He helped to counter the assault!"

"All he did was fire that Assault Rifle, Lady Celestina," He relayed to her. "It dawned upon me that he has no issues using firearms. The problem lies with using hand-to-hand combat."

"Death... you're serious about this..."

He gave a reluctant nod. "Yes, I am, Lady Celestina."

"Well then," He picked up the confidence and impishness in her voice as she leaned over to grab her data pad. "You can just leave it to me, my dear AI."

Death was intrigued by the way she put that. "Oh?"

"As Head Trainer of the Spartan Branch, I know how we can get our boy back into the game. And you're gonna help me with it."

* * *

**A/N: A short chapter to make way for the next chapter! Stay tuned! :D  
**


	26. Training Daze

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base****, Mars  
February 2****nd****, 2553  
7:12am**

"Morning, Celest!"

"Good morning, Lady Celestina!"

"Morning, boys!" The Head Trainer of the Spartan Branch greeted with the cheeriest of tones. "I'm here to see you, Jun. I have a proposal for you."

The second-in-charge sat down his data pad on his desk and leaned against his chair upon hearing that piece of news. "Well, of course I'll marry you."

By the time that sentence hit her, Celestina had already skipped over to his desk, hands on the chair opposite him. "_Not _that kind of proposal, Jun!"

"Oh," Jun was definitely a little abashed and hoped he could turn that around somehow. "Well... At least you know where I stand. For... future purposes, you know?"

She giggled amiably, finding this whole situation amusing. "For sure. At least we got that one out of the way!"

He returned her giggle with a chuckle of his own, before motioning her to take the seat opposite him. "Have a seat. Now, what can I do for my princess?"

"As Head Trainer, I'd like to think that I'm... a_llowed _to make some changes to the training sequence."

"Not 'think', Celest. You _are _allowed to. You have some new ideas?"

"I do," She switched on her data pad she had been carrying and scrolled through the contents to find what she was looking for. "What you already have before I joined _is _good, you know. An obstacle course and game types like Slayer, Capture The Flag and King Of The Hill are essential to training. It's what we played as kids," She then glanced up from her data pad. "But I wanna turn it up a notch."

By now, he was highly curious as to what his other half had cooked up. "I'm listening."

"Now, I'm not the best at naming things. My mom was good at that, but work with me here," She found the appropriate file on her data pad and proceeded explain its contents. "In addition to the matches we already have, I have a few more. 'Oddball' - you have to locate a spherical object on the field and hold onto it for the longest period of time possible while the others attempt to take it from you and do the same. My intention for this game type is to train the recruits to be quick on their feet. 'Invasion Slayer' - a team of Spartans going against a team of Elites. This is where my need for an AI is going to come in to create holographic projections of the enemies. And lastly, 'Dominion' - two teams will try to capture bases on the field. A base that's captured and held for a certain time will fortify, activate turrets and shield doors and other base defenses. Fortified bases will be periodically resupplied with new vehicles and Ordnance Drops. Points are awarded accordingly and the team with the most points wins. Put them all together plus the ones we've already got and I call them 'War Games'."

"Remarkable..." Death whispered in awe, just enough for the two former Spartan-IIIs to hear.

Jun couldn't agree more. "Celest, you are a _genius. _I'm in love with all of these new game types you have!"

She hugged her data pad close to her and had her radiant smile on her face. "Thank you!"

"I knew you had more ideas in you after you made that tag team variant of King Of The Hill."

"Let us not forget the Warthog variant of Capture The Flag, Jun," Death added, slinging his scythe over his shoulder.

"Let's _not_," He said with a little nod to his AI. "Tell me, Death. Does Hydra have space for all these wonderful game types?"

For that question, the sage-green AI brought up a mini 3D layout of Hydra Base. "The Training Bay is large enough," He said, spinning the holographic projection of the training bay around and inspecting it from all angles. "I see no reason why we cannot construct the necessary fields for some of the said game types. Perhaps we can even have two of everything!"

"Then I don't see why we can't make all of these changes," Jun was more than satisfied with Death's answer. "Forget about having an AI _just _to create those holographic projections, Celest. I want you to have one assisting you always. After all, some of the IIs and IIIs leave for missions every now and then and I can't have you working without much help. I'll make sure that we get the funding for this. If I have to twist Musa's arm, I will."

"Take precaution, my little Spartan," Death wiggled an armored finger at his carrier. "As a former Spartan-II, Musa might just twist _yours_."

"He's right, you know." Celestina said.

"Hm," Jun pouted. "You've got a point there. Old man's got spunk."

"OHHHH, SHOTS FIRED!"

* * *

**Location: Spartan Training Bay  
February 19****th****, 2553  
11:46pm**

When Jun walked into the Spartan Training Bay as instructed by Celestina, he found her standing in the center of one of the empty fields, holding her two combat knives. The both of them were in combat pants and boots, while she was in a tank top and he in a super comfortable long-sleeved shirt. Still morbidly confused as to why she would have him come to the empty bay at such an odd hour, he decided to get some answers. "Well, I'm here as you wanted, Celest. What's going on? What's with the combat knives?"

"It's very simple, sweetie," She had one of her mischievous smiles on. This was either going to be really fun or really terrifying. "You and I are gonna engage in a little one-on-one."

The mere mention of 'one-on-one' caused him to freeze. He attempted to regain his composure and find a way out of this. "At _this _hour? Jesus, Celest, there are better timings than this!"

"I needed the bay to be free so this is only rational timing possible. Now come on!" She extended out her left hand to offer him the combat knife with the dark green handle. "Grab it and let's dance."

She could very easily see the agitation on his face the moment she held out that knife to him. "A-actually, princess, I'm... a little tired. It's been a long day. Why don't we do this another time?"

"Oh," She brought both of the knives close to her chest, and her face said that she felt sorry for him. "My poor baby's tired?"

_Anything to get the hell out of here. _"Y-yes, Celest. Your poor baby's tired." His aim at a genuine smile was failing, but he hoped it could get him through this.

"You're sure it's not because you've lost your confidence in close quarters combat?"

_Oh, what the shit. How the hell did she-? _His mind started to run wild. However, he knew that there was only one explanation for Celestina's knowledge of that. So Jun took in a nice, deep breath and asked her, "Where's Death, Celest?"

She placed her hands on her hips, the knives still in her grips. "Why?"

"Because I'd like to strangle him with that dirty disgusting hooded robe of his and punch him square in his faceless face!"

Highly offended, the AI popped up next to his carrier in life-sized form, the sage-green fog he would usually appear with creating a circle around him to indicate his anger. "For YOUR information, Jun, my robes are _not _'dirty and disgusting' and I am pretty sure I can drop you before you say 'princess'!"

"Oh, I'd _like _to see you try! You look like a grim reaper reject!"

"The grim reaper does not have a screech that can very well _deafen _people! Do you really want to take that chance?!"

"Bring it on, you little hooded-"

"**LADIES!**" They fell silent at Celestina's bellow. She raised her right hand with the combat knife that had the gray handle. "Am I going to have to _cut a bitch_? Jesus..."

Death turned his full back on Jun with a mighty huff. Jun did the same, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, Jun. Death was the one who told me." Celestina added.

"Well, he should have kept his mouth shut." Jun murmured, refusing to catch a glimpse of the AI.

"Enormous tattooed baby..."

"Can it, Death!"

"Death doesn't _have _to keep his mouth shut, Mister Highest-Number-Of-Confirmed-Sniper-Kills-In-All-Of-Alpha," Celestina interjected, her voice tainted with sarcasm. "He had every right to tell me. Especially when it's YOU who should have told me in the first place!"

"I didn't think it was a big deal!"

"It _is _a big deal when you're afraid of doing something you're good at! It's an even bigger deal when you don't _tell me _about it!"

"What do you want me to say, Celest? That I'm sorry? Because I really am!" He pleaded.

"I wanna know why you'd keep something like this from me! _Again_." She complained, in reference to him not informing her about his issue with Sally's death 5 years ago.

"I didn't mean to, princess. Honestly. I _really _wanted to try and get past this but it was just too..." If there was one word to describe it, it would be, "Scary."

Her hazel eyes softened upon hearing that. "Scary?"

Jun wrapped his arms around himself as if to protect himself from the painful memories. She saw that dejection was all over his face. "You've seen the scars and burns the Covenant gave me, Celest. I've woken you up countless times due to the nightmares where I'm screaming and _begging _them to stop. It wasn't as if those alien bastards were poking me with a stick. You can't blame me if I don't want to do any close quarters combat."

She took a few steps towards him to close the gap between them a little. "Nobody's blaming you, sweetie. But you can't stay this way forever either. You're good at one-on-one! Emile taught us so much. Hell, even _you _didn't know that you had kickass moves like that! And you can get it all back, sweetie, if you just let Death and me help you."

"But Death's mad at me."

"Oh, I can NEVER stay mad at this face!" Death's merry voice rang through the empty bay. "Come here!" With that, he engulfed his carrier in a tight hug.

"Damn, Death!" Jun was taken by surprise by the sudden actions of his AI. "Never knew you gave killer hugs!"

"They are the best kind of hugs!"

Celestina rolled her eyes at the scene before her, though she was unable to contain her smile. "Get a room, you two!"

* * *

**A/N: Yay for hugs from Death! XD I'd like to think that he turned out well in this chapter. So I hope you guys like it too! :)  
**


	27. Goodbyes Aren't Forever

**Location: Celestina's office, Hydra Base****, Mars  
February 10****th**** 2553  
7:06am **

"Come on in!"

"Celest! Hey, I'm glad I caught you before you ran off for training."

"Oh, what's up, sweetie?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"Ooooh, a present?" When Jun lifted up the mysterious object in his hand, Celestina instantly recognized what it was. "It's an AI data chip."

A smile played on his lips. "Time to meet your AI, princess."

She gasped at that. "Holy crap. How's my hair?"

"Silly..." He commented with a chuckle, heading over to the AI console next to her desk and inserting the data chip into it. The AI console was originally for Death to make his appearance every now and then. "You excited?"

"Totally!"

The AI console came alive and the light gray-colored AI that was created from Celestina herself revealed itself to the duo. She flipped her straight waist-back hair to her back and causally adjusted her elbow-length gloves that very easily matched the sleeveless evening gown she was wearing. "Salve (Hello)!" She greeted in a pleasant tone, holding onto her clutch purse.

"Hi there." Jun returned the welcome with a little wave.

Celestina, however, did not say a word. She was too busy gawking at the sight of her AI, almost rendering her numb.

"What's the matter, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Neither of the two expected a strong Italian accent to come out of her either.

"I'm... sorry," Celestina apologized with all her heart, still trying to break out of her daze. She stood in front of the console and got down to its level. "You look... just like my mother. And this dress - my sister Christine wore this for her 15th birthday party. I remember because she asked to me to pick between the navy blue dress and the gray one."

"And you told her that she never really wore anything gray so she should give it a shot," The AI's gentle nature and affectionate smile... Hell, it wasn't just the AI's looks. Celestina _knew _for the fact that she was staring at her mother. "Va bene (It's okay), child. I understand if this is a shock to you. Please, let me introduce myself. My name is Emiliana. Lieto di vederla (nice to meet you). The both of you."

"Similmente (Likewise)!" Celestina looked at the AI she if she was in love. "So you've got my dad's Italian accent, my mother's looks, my sister's dress... The name 'Emiliana'. Is it what I think it is?"

"Yes, child. It's exactly what you think it is," She confirmed with the tiniest of bows. "It was known to me how much Emile meant to you. So it's only right that I honor him."

"Well, I won't have it any other way," She grinned widely at Emiliana. "Welcome to the family."

* * *

**Location: Spartan Training Bay  
February 22****nd****, 2553  
10:26pm**

"Emiliana told me you were here."

Jun didn't even face her. All he did was give a little nod.

For the last 3 nights, Jun and Celestina have been meeting after lights were out to have at least an hour of training, in hopes that she could cure his fear of engaging in close combat. It appeared to be working, despite the short amount of time.

However, after dinner on this day, Celestina was surprised to find that Jun was not in his private dorm. They had agreed to not have training today, but there was nowhere else he could be. She knew that it was important not to push him too hard, especially when there were some skills of his he was unable to execute, not without risking paralysis. Her AI eventually popped up to the nearest AI console to confirm her carrier of Jun's whereabouts.

Celestina was twiddling her thumbs as she spoke. "Sweetie, I'm... a little concerned about you," Anybody could tell that Celestina inherited her gentleness from her mother. She walked up to Jun, who was peering over the railing, observing the empty bay below him. "You've been gloomy ever since this morning and you wouldn't tell me why. I told myself not to pry because I was hoping that you'd tell me what's going on. But now I see that that's not going to be the case," She then placed her hand on his arm. "So I'm asking again. What's wrong?"

"It's... just been a rough day, princess."

_Wow. He's not even _trying _to lie to me. _"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and say it's because of the news we received this morning. About the memorial on the 3rd of March."

This time, Jun gave no reaction whatsoever, and it answered Celestina's question easily. "Yeah, I know. I'm not to crazy about it either. But it's about time we honor our fallen. Especially the Spartans. Screw the MIA crap. There's no excuse to take anything away from them. Not after everything they've done for us."

"I'm not going."

That statement brought her to a screeching halt. "What?"

"I'm not going, princess," He repeated without any emotion, still keeping his bright blue eyes on the empty bay. "You go. Oh, but take Death with you. I know he wants to go."

"... Am I hearing this right? You _don't _want to go?"

"Yes."

"What the hell, Jun?!" She sounded as if she had been greatly offended to the point of no return.

"Look, I'll keep it brief, Celest," He turned his head to her. "I don't want to go so that I can spare myself the pain of having to say goodbye. I don't go? I don't get to say goodbye. Makes it helluva a lot easier to deal with it all."

She could not believe what she was hearing. "Jun, do you have _any _idea what you're saying? You're denying yourself a chance to honor our friends! They are our _family_!"

"Well, families _aren't _supposed to leave you. But newsflash, Celest, they _did. _And then you're left all alone, wondering why the hell did you get the survive _again _while all of your friends get to die! I'm going to have to battle all of these questions and I don't need a memorial service to make me feel even worse about myself, Celest. So forget it! I'm outta here." With that, he brushed by her, heading for the exit.

"Jun, wait!"

She wanted to go after him but she was then stopped by a serene voice from the bay from behind her. "Celestina, no," When she looked behind her, Emiliana was projected onto the railing, still within distance from the nearest AI console. "It's okay, child. Let the poor dear be. He'll come around, I'm sure of it. Best let him dwell."

Celestina reluctantly listened to her AI, watching helplessly as Jun stormed out of the observation deck.

* * *

**Location: Jun's office  
February 23****rd****, 2553  
9:35am**

The next morning, as always, Jun was in his office, looking over a new list of potential recruits that Death cooked up on his data pad. There was a slight ominous essence in the air and Death could feel deep in his circuits, despite being safe in his AI chip in the AI console.

Just then, there were knocks on his door that, while were gentle, they were impatient as well.

"Come in." There was next to no energy in Jun's voice this morning.

He had half-expected Celestina to walk in, even though she was supposed to be at training as always. Then he remembered that Emiliana could hold down the fort for a little while. So true enough, the female Spartan entered his office with an unreadable expression and stopped a few inches away from his desk. "So I've thinking about what you said last night. And the more I thought about it, the more it pissed me off."

She almost couldn't recognize the person she'd known for the last 23 years. His face currently said that he gave no fudges. His bright blue eyes darted from the data pad and onto his lover. "Then I guess it'd piss you off even more when I say that I'm not sorry."

She had one had on her hip as she spoke. "You don't have to be. You're entitled to your opinion. And I'm entitled to try to change it." She proclaimed.

One eyebrow rose at that but he knew she was asking to be heard and even though he was not in the mood, he still didn't have the heart to deny her of anything. "Knock yourself out," He put the data pad down. "I'm listening."

"I know what's going on here," As if to emphasize her point, she placed her other hand on her hip. "This is your PTSD acting up."

A single short laugh left him upon hearing that declaration. "Come on, Celest, that's-"

"Crazy?" She leisurely made her way to his desk. "Well, I think you're forgetting who you're talkin' too. I'm the _only _Spartan-III to have left the program because of PTSD getting the upper hand. So I know _exactly _what kind of thoughts it conjures. So whatever you said last night? I thought of it first."

Jun began to drum his fingers on his desk. "It has nothing to do with the PTSD."

"Keep lying to me, Jun."

"I'm not lying."

"You love your friends. Why not honor them?"

"You know why."

"Because you don't want to say goodbye?" She placed her hands on his desk. "What does that even mean?"

"You know what that means. You're the only one who knows." He leaned forward.

"What, you're afraid of letting go?"

"Yes."

She had no reaction to it written on her face, but her 2-second silence said that she was not expecting to be right. "But you let go of your dad."

"Don't let the tattoo fool you. I never did." He got up from his seat to meet with her, though his back was facing her.

She took him by the arm and made him face her. "_Please_ talk to me." She quavered softly.

He gazed into those pleading hazel eyes and found no reason to deny her help any further. With a tired sigh, he ran one hand past her cheek. "Losing our families - it's what shaped us to be what we are, Celest. My father was all I had and when he... I wanted to let go of him. To not cause myself anymore distress. But when I tried to? All that's left were the memories. And all they did was cause me even more pain instead of bringing me comfort. And you know how much I love my father, so you know that there were _a lot _of memories. I wanted to let go of Shadow, of _Noble_. But it's not working. It's the _same thing_. Just pain and more pain, Celest. I go to that memorial and I'll have to let go which I don't _want _to! For the sake of my sanity!"

"Sweetie, you've got it wrong!" She immediately grabbed hold of his hand. "Memories are not meant to cause pain. They are meant to keep the people you've lost close! Think about all the wonderful moments you've had with your dad. Like the first time you scored a bullseye in archery. He was super proud! Doesn't thinking about that day make you happy?"

He couldn't stop that little chuckle from coming to him, along with a tear glistening in his eye. "Could've sworn our whole neighborhood heard him cheering like a maniac."

"See? No pain in that, right?" She giggled. "It's the same with Ryan and Rhonda _and _with Noble too. There are so many good memories that are meant to bring you joy, sweetie. Not pain." She let him have a moment to digest that before speaking again. "You remember what Ambrose said to us?"

"Ambrose said a lot of things to us, princess,"

"Well, the one thing he said is to honor our fallen," She informed. "And Jun... I feel like I'll betray his memory if I don't go to the memorial. Won't you feel the same way?"

"Ah. You're hitting it where it hurts, Celest."

"Sorry, but it's how I feel. I really miss him. I was looking forward to working with him..." She said desolately.

"He's probably enjoying a beer with Jorge in Valhalla right now."

She laughed harmoniously at that. "That's such a nice thought!"

"Pardon me," The duo recognized Death's voice anywhere. "The two of you are aware that I never listen in on your conversation. Yet I deduced that I might need to weigh in on something."

"Do tell." Celestina said.

"I was thinking about what the both of you have said respectively, children, and... well..." Death had his hands behind his back as he spoke. "The one thing you must understand, Jun, is that goodbyes are not forever. We will all see each other on the other side."

Jun appeared as if he had not thought of that before, but it was certainly truthful. Giving his AI a small smile, he then said, "You're right, Death," Then he glanced at Celestina. "The both of you are. Sorry I was acting like a little bitch."

"Aw, that's not true! But apology accepted, sweetie." She placed a quick kiss on his lips before embracing him in a tight hug.

* * *

**A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you've liked this chapter! :)  
**

**Stay tuned for the next one as it's going to be the most exciting one yet!**


	28. What Was Once Thought Lost

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base, Mars  
June 1st, 2553  
9:49am **

"Next. Next. Next. Improve on that ratio and perhaps I shall return to you. Oh, dear. With _that _haircut, how am I to take you seriously? Good record, however. Perhaps you can go to the 'maybe' pile..."

Just like any other day, Death was looking through the UNSC Defense Force database to find more potential recruits for the Spartan Branch. He had a habit of talking to himself while he worked so he made sure that he was safe in his AI chip in the AI console where no one could hear him and well... judge him.

Nobody could blame him, though. Death liked to think that he was funny.

"Hm, _you _are definitely a keeper. Now, who is next in lin-" Shock gripped Death's whole being upon landing on this next soldier's profile. The name was all to familiar and it also didn't make any sense to him.

"It cannot be. It is not possible!" So he scanned through the profile in hopes that he could come to a conclusion about the soldier's true identity. "Oh my sweet matrix. It _is_..." If Death had a heart, it would be beating like a drum.

Death usually made himself visible via a mist of sage-green. However this time, he did not bother with this method and instead popped out of nowhere right in front of his carrier's face, scaring him greatly.

"JESUS!" If Jun hadn't had a tight grip on the edge of his desk, he would have easily fallen out of his leather chair. "Death, what the hell?!"

"I did not mean to frighten you, Jun, but you are NOT going to believe what I have discovered!"

"What's so important that I nearly fall out of my chair and onto my ass?" He questioned, attempting to sit comfortably on his chair once more.

"This soldier I found," In his typical tiny AI size, he stood on Jun's desk. "He... You will not believe who he is!"

His AI's frantic behavior brought great puzzlement to the former Spartan-III. Jun raised his hands in an attempt to calm him down. "Death, buddy, you gotta calm _down_. Take a deep breath and tell papa all about it."

He listened to the second-in-charge and took a deep, well-inhaled breath. "It... would be easier if I just show it to you, Jun." With that, he promptly sent the files over to Jun's data pad.

Jun still could not understand why Death would make a big deal out of the profile of a potential recruit. Nonetheless, he took a look at it for himself. The confused expression he originally had on his face had been wiped right off.

"_Now _do you understand why I am taken aback?"

"Death..." He lowered the data pad to look at his AI. "This is not possible..."

"I am afraid... that it is, my little Spartan," Death responded, holding his scythe close to him. "Are you... going to tell her?"

"I have to, Death," Jun heaved a defeated sigh. "But I just don't know how to..." He glanced back hopelessly at the profile picture of the Sergeant. "Gather whatever you can on him, Death, and send the files to my data pad. This is a delicate situation. I'll try to find some way to tell her."

* * *

**Location: Celestina's private dorms  
10:58pm**

While Celestina was in the showers, Jun took the opportunity to continue reading the soldier's profile as he leaned against the headboard of the bed. _It's him, no doubt about it. How to find a plausible way to tell her about him, though? It took so long for her to handle her grief and misery. I feel like I'll just send her back to the wolves at this point. What if she freaks the hell out? What if she relapses? I can't do that to my princess. _

"Ahhh! Night showers are the _bomb_!" She said in major relaxation as she pulled off the hair tie that was keeping her hair up high. She hurried over to the mirror to fluff her red hair before joining Jun on the bed. She titled her head at him. "You're _still _doing work at this time? Well," She stole the data pad from his hand and chucked it on the nightstand. "Not anymore."

Jun knew the look in her hazel eyes. With a tired smile, he countered with, "Sorry, princess. Not tonight."

"Oh, come _on_!" She whined.

"It's been a tiring day, that's all."

With a pout, she studied his face. "Well… you _do _look exhausted. But it's more like sadness to me," Then her full lips curled into a smile. "You're worried about the next batch going in for the augmentations, aren't you?"

He was genuinely surprised to hear that. Perhaps tonight was not going to be the day to tell her. "Yes, princess. That's it."

"D'awww," She reached forward to cup his right cheek. "You're just a sweetheart! Caring about your Spartans like that."

"Ours, actually. Aren't we their parents?"

"Well, what makes Musa then?"

"Grumpy uncle?"

She giggled. "They're all gonna be fine. As always. You know that, right?"

_They're, quite honestly, the last thing on my mind right now. _"I do, princess."

"See? So there's nothing to worry about, right?" She questioned as she curled up in his arms, head on his chest. "I know there's always the risk factors, but we have the best technology right now. Combined with the new armor, it's all good. I also know it sucks to have to watch them relearn to do trivial things like walking or picking up a spoon but that's what we're here for."

"You're always right," He placed a peck on her head. "Celest, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"Do you… still think about your family?"

Jun expected her to lift her head up and ask him a hundred and one questions, but she only asked the one. "Sure I do. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about my father today and it made me wonder if you still think about your own family."

"If you mean 'is the pain easier to handle', then yeah. It is," She glanced up at his face, hand on his knee. "Once upon a time, I was a scared little girl. But I got help and could handle those memories better. Sure it still stings, especially with Caden, but what's happened, happened. All the crying and the questions aren't going to bring them back. I survived, was given a chance to get revenge, and perhaps even try to stop more horrible events like those from happening too often."

"You ever wondered what would've went down if they saw you as you were right now?" He did not even hesitate – that just came out. As soon as he said it, he so badly wanted to take it back.

"They'd probably think I was a freak."

"Celest-"

"Well, it's the truth," She shrugged her shoulders at that. "I'm a 6'7 augmented super-solider with the power to destroy an entire neighborhood, and probably have bigger muscles than my own brother. I'm not the same youngest daughter of the Devon family anymore."

"I beg to differ," He said, one hand on her cheek. "You haven't changed since we met. All you did was get stronger and prettier."

She smiled.

"I honestly think that they'll be proud of you. Shocked, but accepting."

With a final smirk, she resettled on his chest once more. "And I know your dad would feel the same way."

* * *

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base, Mars  
June 2****nd****, 2553  
12:03pm**

"Hey, sweetie! Death told me that you wanted to see me after morning training was over. Oh, but whatever it is, think we can talk about it over lunch? I'm starving!"

There was something that Jun had just only realized the moment she said that. He realized that she retained so much of her innocence, and he hated that the Spartan life would often try to take it away. She was a good kid who should have never picked up a gun in her life and just live a normal life with her family. Sometimes, fate just really sucked.

"It's... kind of important, princess. Way too important to be talked about over lunch."

_Okay. Lack of proper eye contact, the stiff shoulders, drumming his fingers on his data pad... Guess it _is _important. And it's more important than food! _"Okay. What's up?"

He reached forward and took her hand in a gentle grasp, one that made her smile at him. _Damn. How I hate that I'm the one who's gonna wipe that smile off her face. _"Have a seat, princess." He led them to his leather sofa. "What I'm about to tell you in going to be... difficult to believe, Celest, but know that all of it is the truth. And there was no way Death and I could keep this from you. You needed to know about this."

Close encounters with Energy Sword-wielding Elites could not even compare to the fear that was in Celestina's chest right now. Her lover's words were generating great concern in her. "Jun, you're scaring me. What's going on? What is it that I need to know?"

There was a tightness around his throat and he was not even wearing a tie with his dress shirt today. "Can you tell me about that day on Convergence V? When it was just you and your brother left."

"What? Why?" She inquired.

"Bear with me here. Please."

She had not talked about that terrible day on Convergence V, her homeplanet, in years. At least, not after the nightmares she had when she was still a little girl stopped. Every single day was an attempt that getting past it, but it dawned upon her that one never really gets over the tragedy; it just shapes them. She just couldn't get why Jun would ask about it after so long, especially when he knew and understood how painful it was. "Okay, fine. Um... Those Jackals and Grunts had shot down Christine and it was going to get us too. But since Caden worked at our parents' gun range, he knew how to handle a gun so he dropped the Jackal that killed Chrissy and killed the other few. All seemed quiet but Caden didn't want to take a chance so we ran up to my room where he placed me in my closet. He was going to climb in with me too but an Elite came out of nowhere and surprised us. Caden was trying to fight it off and lure it away from me, which he did, not before telling me to stay in the closet and that he loved me."

There was no way she could ever forget a single detail. Not about that day. Well… this was the best she could do. As time went by, memories of that dreadful day were leaving her mind. "Jun, you know all of this. What's the point of me telling it to you again?"

"Just to be clear... You _didn't _see him die?"

"Say what?"

"Caden. He lured that Elite away from you so you didn't actually see him die."

"ONI confirmed all of our families' deaths, Jun, but..." She appeared as if no one had asked her that question before, and that was because no one had. "No. I didn't actually see him die, unlike Christine. Jun, quit avoiding my question. Please, just tell me what's going on."

He must have practiced this a thousand times over and over again but he was still in no way prepared on telling her this. Jun prepared for the appropriate files on his data pad. "Death was searching for more recruits to hopefully make up Fireteam Lilac and..." He handed her the data pad with that Sergeant's profile. "He found this."

She gripped the data pad with both hands and took a good look at the profile picture.

"Caden's still alive."

Her hazel eyes were fixated onto the profile picture and she remained silent as a mouse. There was not a peep from her for a good 5 seconds. "W-what? No. No, it can't be."

"It is, princess."

"No, he's _dead_!" She quickly countered, her grip on the data pad getting tighter. With her Spartan strength, she could easily break it. "The names Caden and Devon are common. Anyone can have this name and be born on this day. That includes the homeplanet too."

Jun had expected denial from Celestina and he was getting loads of it. He maintained his small smile as he spoke to her. "Perhaps you're right, princess."

"Oh, I know when I'm right!"

"But you might want to scroll down and look at the names of his family members."

"Alright, I will!"

"Go ahead."

"Fine!" With a mighty huff, she scrolled down the page to find the names of the members of his family.

_**Lorenzo Devon (Father, deceased)  
Annalisa Devon (Mother, deceased)  
Christine Lea Devon (Sister, deceased)  
Celestina Jenette Devon (Sister, deceased) **_

"So do you still think that there could be someone else in this world with that same name, same birth date, same homeplanet and city, his parents being Lorenzo and Annalisa Devon, and his sisters being Christine and Celestina Devon?"

Glancing up at him once more, it was clear that she was out of ways to continue to deny all of this. "You can't say that it's not possible..."

"Princess," He reached forward and put one hand on her shoulder. "Your brother's alive. Has been for the last 23 years."

"No!" She raised her tone, already beginning to tear up. "No, it's _can't _be! My brother is supposed to be dead!"

"Celest-"

She shoved his data pad into his arms and when he successfully caught it, she grabbed him by his right arm and pulled him up to his feet. "Come with me!" She ordered, dragging him out of his office.

* * *

**Location: Celestina's private dorms **

During the whole travel to her private dorm, which was connected to her office, Celestina had a painful grip on Jun's arm, though he knew she was doing it unknowingly and didn't mean to hurt him. She only let go of him to retrieve the holo-still from her nightstand and present it to him. "Look at this! This was taken at my sister's 16th birthday party! Okay? Everyone in this picture is dead! My mom, dad, sister _and _brother! Everyone is _dead_!" She almost shrilled, a look of hurt on her face.

"I'm afraid not, princess." He told her softly.

"This is _insane_!" She shrieked at him, almost slamming down the holo-still onto her nightstand. "Everyone's supposed to be DEAD! I've ACCEPTED that!"

This was probably her one last try at convincing herself that there was no way her brother could be alive. "Not everyone, princess. Not anymore."

She brought her hands up to her cheeks and shook her head non-stop. "No… no…!"

"Celest-" He reached for her.

"_Hide in the closet, Celest,"_ She then spoke, although it was in whispers. "_Don't come out unless it's me. It's okay, Celest. Your brother's got this. I love you. This Elite's got nothing on me. You want a fight, I'll give you one, you ugly son of a bitch, but you're not laying a hand on my sister._"

Jun froze. As for as he had known, Celestina could never fully remember all the words her brother spoke that day. She could only remember Christine's death, running up to her room, him trying to fight off the Energy Sword-wielding Elite and telling her that he loved her.

She looked at him with a defeated expression on her face, and then started to fall forward.

"Celest!" He cried out, instantly reaching forward and catching her before she could even hit the floor. He let her rest her upper body on his chest as he was brought to his knees, still holding onto her. "Hey…! Celest, hey! Wake up! Wake u- Death! Death, get a doctor!" Jun ordered, turning his head back to the fallen Celestina. "Come on, princess, wake up!"

* * *

**Later… **

"She's never fainted before."

"This has taken a highly emotional toll on her, Jun. She has known her entire family to be dead since she was but 7 years of age. And now, to suddenly be brought this new information about her brother… You have told me before about how much she admired him."

Once Death practically dragged a doctor to Celestina's private dorms to check on her, he concluded that she was going to be alright but that she needed to take it easy, especially for someone with her mental history. She was passed out for now, lying on her bed after Jun carried her and placed her there.

Right now, he and Death, who had always cared about Celestina deeply due to his connection with Jun, were trying not to freak out. Jun caressed her cheek gently as he watched over her, silently begging her to wake up. "I honestly thought the nightmares would end for her. Guess I was wrong."

Death, in his life-sized form, pushed himself away from the wall. "However, this is not a nightmare, Jun. This is quite the opposite. She has the chance to reunite with a member of her family, after so long."

"It's not necessarily a good thing, Death. Look at her," Jun glanced up at Death. "She's unconscious!"

"This is but temporary, Jun. Please do not worry. She will be alright."

It was at that moment that Celestina started to stir and squirm. She opened her eyes gradually, as if the ceiling light was going to burn her eyes. "Goddamn it…" She murmured.

"Hey, princess," Jun attempted to sound as composed as possible. "How're you feeling?"

"Wha…" She was obviously dazed, but that did not stop her from trying to sit up. "Did I just fucking _faint_?"

"I guess the news was too much for you to handle. I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"What?" This time, it was not because she was dazed. It was because he was apologizing. "Why are you apologizing, silly? You did the right thing by telling me."

"Not if it caused you to faint."

She released an epic sigh. "It's okay. I'm just… in shock."

"Take all the time you need, my Lady," Death called from where he was standing. "We may revisit this any time."

She gave the A.I. a tiny smile. "I'm afraid this is all that's gonna be on my mind. If he's been alive all this time, I could have had a normal life..." She trailed off.

Jun responded with running his hand over her head.

"Tell me everything." She then said to him.

"Princess-"

"Please, sweetie," She pleaded with her hazel eyes, leaning forward with her hands on his thighs. "I need to know what happened."

Though reluctant because of what had just happened to her, he proceeded to explain Caden's story further, having practically memorized it from reading it over and over again. "Caden took down that Elite that was about to get the both of you but the brawl must have taken them outside of your house because that's where they found him, hurt but alive. Before the Covenant starting glassing the planet, Caden was already taken to a UNSC medical facility along with the rest of the injured but he slipped into a coma almost as soon as he was found. The wounds healed but he still wouldn't wake up. He was in a coma for a year, princess. But he was cared for by your aunt Caroline and they moved to Mars where they've been staying ever since."

Her eyes went wild with bewilderment when she heard that name. "My aunt Caroline? She's still alive?"

With a warm smile, he nodded. "Yes, princess. She and Caden managed to reunite."

"I-I mean, I wish I could remember her more but... I know that she's a good person..." She glanced up at him, as if she had just remembered something important. "What about my folks? I didn't see them die too."

"I'm sorry, princess."

"Huh," She gave him a faked laugh and smirk. "Of course. My luck can only hold out for so much..."

"There's more, princess,"

"Oh great! _More_!"

However, this piece of information put a smile on Jun's face, and he had a feeling that it might do the same to Celestina. "You have a nephew."

It took a moment to register before she could speak, gaping at him in utter disbelief. "What?"

"Caden has a son. He's currently staying with your aunt on Mars." He continued.

She sniffed and a single tear fell. "Are you serious?" She asked, her voice cracking.

He nodded at her question. "His name is Christian and he's 10 years old. And I think we all know who he was named after."

A teary smile formed on her face. "Christine..."

"That's what I think too, princess," He then took her one hand with both hands. "Caden has a great service record. His work at the Sniper Rifle? Exceptional."

"That's because the Snipe Rifle is his weapon of choice. He'd always practice it when at our parents' gun range. He was _so _good at such a young age..."

"Which is why he'd be perfect to be a Spartan," Jun said, taking a seat right next to her. "He's the last of six potential recruits we have for Fireteam Lilac. He's now at Iris Medical Station, in the Epsilon Eridani system. I'm going to see him soon and I want you to come with me."

"Jun..."

"Emiliana had handle one day without you. You know you have to see him. You don't have to tell him who you are. Not yet. But you have to talk to him, see the kind of man he's become."

There was truth in Jun's words and she knew it. So all she did was nod in agreement.

"Come here." He told her softly, pulling her into his chest. He did not want to say anything more; all he needed was to comfort her in silence.

* * *

**A/N: Told you it would be exciting! x)**


	29. Caden Devon

**Location: ****Iris Medical Station  
Epsilon Eridani system  
June 3****rd****, 2553  
2:14pm**

"I'm nervous. Hella nervous. My heart's beating so fast, I feel like it's gonna jump right out of my chest! Realistically, that can't happen right?"

"Okay, okay, _relax_, princess. Take a nice deep breath."

"It's not _working_!"

"Celest, it's perfectly normal to be scared, but don't worry," Jun assured in a comforting manner, quickly taking hold of her hand. "You can do this. I'm right here with you."

The elevator was taking the duo to the floor where Caden Devon, Celestina's older brother was staying while his left shoulder was healing up after a mission that almost went wrong. It was not everyday that a sniper would find himself in a precarious situation, but in order to save the mission, Caden had to step in and it cost him one hell of a shoulder injury.

Celestina's stomach felt like it was in knots throughout the ship ride, pelican ride, and now the elevator ride. She was quaking with anxiousness, these feelings in her chest wanting to burst out. Her brother was alive and well, now a Sergeant, well-feared sniper and father. She couldn't believe that she was an aunt, but it was one of the best feelings in the world to have at the moment.

"Here we are," Jun said as they were nearing Caden's ward. "You ready?"

"Catch me if I faint, won't you?"

He simpered at that, hoping it would calm her a little. Jun himself needed to relax, unsure of how this was going to play out, whether or not Celestina was going to keep her emotions in check. "Sergeant Devon?" He called out.

The sergeant was lying on the bed, data pad in hand and his left shoulder and upper arm heavily bandaged. He glanced up from the data pad and to the doorway, where two people he had never met before stood.

_Oh my Jesus Christ. He looks... just like daddy._

"Hey there. What's going on?" Caden asked, presenting a pleasant smile that ran in the Devon family. He had short, jet-black hair, and the hazel eyes that Celestina also had.

"We're wondering if you had a moment to spare," Jun continued, walking in, with Celestina almost timidly following behind. "We're from the Spartan Branch."

"Spartan?" He put his data pad down on the bed. "Is this what I think it is, then?" He shifted to sit on the edge of the bed and face them.

"Yes, it's exactly what you think it is, Sergeant." _So this is Celest's brother. Seems like a nice guy. He was everything to her. Is. Wonder if he'll kill me for being in a relationship with his little sister?  
_

"Please," He said, holding his hand out for a handshake. "Caden will be just fine."

Jun took his hand in a strong handshake. "Jun. I'm the second-in-charge and recruiter."

"Ah, I sort of guessed your name."

"Oh really?

"Yeah, you're kinda famous. It's the tattoo, for sure."

_Funny_. "Well, I _am_ proud of it."

"I'll bet!" Caden chuckled, then catching sight of the demure Celestina. "Ma'am." He gave her his hand.

_Oh jeez, my heart's gonna explode. _"I'm... Celestina. I'm the... Head Trainer for the branch." She hoped that he wouldn't feel that her hand quivering in his grasp.

His eyebrows knitted together when he heard that name. "I'm sorry, but did you say 'Celestina'?"

She forced herself to smile at him. "I read your file, Caden. Yeah, your little sister and I have the same name. Small world, eh?"

"Totally."

She was unable to take her eyes off him, still in minor shock over the fact that she was standing before her brother after 23 years. "We're... sorry for your loses. As Spartans," She exchanged a brief glance with Jun. "We understand completely what that's like."

Caden gave her a small nod to show his appreciation. "Thank you, Celestina. I'd... say my family's death is the main reason why I'm here today. I mean not... _here _as in the medical station, but... _here _as in the UNSC. You know what I mean."

Celestina couldn't fight back her silly grin. _Yeah, he's definitely Caden. As goofy as he's always been. _"Yeah, we do."

Seeing his lover smile like that definitely warmed the former Noble member's heart.

"Would you um... would you say that it shaped you into what you've become today?" She questioned with a little bit of uneasiness in her tone.

"Definitely," He answered without hesitation. "My family was my whole life, you know? I felt like I had it all," He told them, his face expressing his grief although he held a little smile. "Covenant bastards attacked Convergence V and I lost everyone - my parents when they were working at our gun range and my older sister Christine when Brutes broke into our home. Was in a freakin' coma for a _year_ trying to protect my little sister. Thought at least she had survived but she was nowhere to be found," At his bedside, there was two holo-stills. He gazed at the one with the family of five as soon as he mentioned Celestina. "I took out all of my frustrations at the local gun range on Mars and enlisted as soon as I was of age."

Jun could see it on Celestina's face - she was _begging _to reveal her identity right here, right now. So he stepped in and said, "I've reviewed your service record, Caden. You're one hell of a sniper, I must say. You hold the record for having one of the highest number of confirmed sniper kills. You're quick on your feet, silent on the field. And let's not forget your bravery on your last mission."

"Aw geez," Caden lowered his head bashfully and scratched the back of it. "You guys are too kind."

"Trust me, with the record you've established over these years, your family will be damn proud of you." Celestina commented with a beaming smile.

"That's sweet of you to say, Celestina. Thank you!" He thanked with all his heart.

She took in a shaky breath, but kept her smile. "Well, I'm convinced," She turned her head to Jun. "I thought his record was enough but his courteousness is blowing me away too! Don't you agree, Jun?"

"Oh absolutely, princess," _Whoops. Probably not a good idea to call her that in front of other people, let alone Caden. Ah, screw it. I can't take it back. _"Caden, we'd be proud to have you on the branch as a sniper. Fireteam Lilac is lacking one."

Caden gave them a little smirk upon hearing that. "Oh well, I guess we'll have to change that, won't we?"

"Is that a yes, Caden?"

"It's a hell yes."

* * *

Celestina was the first one to exit the room and when she was a distance from Caden's ward, she let out a much needed sigh, putting one hand on the wall to steady herself. Jun immediately sat one hand on her back and ran it up and down. "Are you okay?"

She was on the verge of hyperventilating but his gentle caresses on her back were stopping it, thankfully. "I just... can't believe it, Jun," She straightened her back, thought not turning to face him just yet. "Caden's alive. After all this time! After all those nights I spent crying for my family, I've got someone back and..."

He moved his hand from her back to her shoulder. "And now you have to come back soon and tell him who you are. He'll be thrilled, princess! It might take some convincing, but you can do it," He placed his other hand on her shoulder as well, in an attempt to get her to look at him. "He deserves to know that his little sister is okay. And you deserve your brother back."

"Then I'm coming back tomorrow,"

"So soon?"

She titled her head at him. "What's the date tomorrow, sweetie?

"June 4th."

She raised her eyebrows at him, wanting him to understand what she was getting that.

"Oh. Got it. Alright, I'll make the preparations for you to come back tomorrow. And... good luck, princess."


	30. Hero

**Location: Iris Medical Station  
Epsilon Eridani system  
June 4th, 2553  
2:56pm**

"Caden? Can I come in?"

The Sergeant was surprised, but pleasantly surprised to see the Head Trainer at his ward's doorway the very next day. "Oh hey, Celestina!" He was sitting on the sofa in the ward, ironically staring at the holo-still of his family. Celestina recognized it - it was taken at a Christmas, but she could not remember which one. "Good to see you again! And so soon."

_I haven't even eased into it and my heart's going insane. "_I hope you don't mind, but... there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Sure, not a problem," He leaned over to his side and placed the precious holo-still back into its place. "Is it about my induction into the branch? Is there a problem?" He questioned, getting to his feet.

She produced the most fake smile known to man, even though she did not want to. It was difficult to tell Caden who she was. Man, now she knew how Jun felt. "N-no, Caden. No problem whatsoever. We're still preparing the paperwork for you and you'll get it soon. It's about something else."

"Okay. What's up?" Poor guy had no clue of the atomic bomb Celestina was about to drop on him.

_Here we go. _"It's about your little sister."

Hazel eyes narrowed at the former Spartan-III and he did not speak for a heartbeat. _A natural reaction, _Celestina thought. "What? What about her?"

_He's so not going to believe me, but I can't back out now. _"What if I told you that Celestina wasn't dead as you've always thought? What if I told you that she was rescued by the UNSC and believed that her entire family had been killed, so she foolishly joined the Spartans to extract revenge?" A quick deep breath and she concluded with, "What if I told you that she was standing right in front of you?"

"Hell _no_. You don't expect me to believe _that_. Honestly, if this is _some kind of joke_, Spartan or not, don't make me kick your ass." Caden was now staring daggers at her, wondering how the hell could she say such things to him, especially about his precious little sister, whom he thought he could have saved all those years ago.

Celestina most definitely expected that kind of response from the Sergeant so she nodded at that. Taking another much-needed breath, she continued on. "Christine absolutely loved our relationship. She said it was unbelievable how well you'd take care of me. You always told me about how taking over the mom and daddy's gun range was your dream. You said that you'd make them proud. The sniper rifle was your favorite weapon and you were _so good _at it. I was scared to death of all those noises coming from the gun range so you'd often miss your practices to console me. Whenever I was sick, you would stay with me until I would get better, even if that meant camping in my room. You'd read me countless bedtime stories or make one up of your own and you'd always say that it was the best part of your day, no matter how crappy school got. And to get me to go to sleep or to stop crying? You'd sing me a song called 'Hero' and that was your favorite Enchanter's Awakening song. I never forgot a single word of it."

It was so hard for Celestina to not choke up as she spoke. Caden himself was finding it just as difficult to stop himself from having tears in his eyes while she mentioned all of those things. "I don't believe it... No. It can't be!"

"'Just take my hand. We'll go anywhere you want. We can leave it all behind. I'll be the one you call hero'. Aren't those some of the lyrics? You can't tell me you don't know them."

"Oh Jesus..." Just one tear fell. "How do you know that? You can't know that!"

"I have a picture," She reached into the inner pocket of her black leather jacket and fished out an inactive holo-still. Clicking on the little button, the photograph took its shape and Celestina turned it around so Caden could view it with his own eyes. "At Chrissy's 16th birthday. It was all that was left when the Covenant destroyed our home. I made sure to never lose it. I made sure I would always come back to it. It's the most precious thing in the world to me, Caden."

Caden wanted to refuse to believe that his little sister was right in front of him. However, there were so many things that pointed to the other direction.

"Caden," The soft way in which she said his name made him look up at her. "I'm here. I didn't believe that you were alive at first but here you are! I've got my big brother back and the feeling is _awesome_! Please, you have to believe me."

That was when Caden said something that Celestina never thought he would say to her. "I had a feeling, you know. When you walked in yesterday?" There was the faintest trace of a smile. "I could've sworn I was lookin' at mom."

"Oh gosh..." If that didn't put a smile on her face, nothing else will. "Caden..."

"You're looking gorgeous, Celest," He complimented with a wide and teary smile. "It's good to see you," With that, he enveloped her in a tight embrace, hugging his sister for the first time in 22 years. "It's _so _good to see you."

* * *

**A/N: I hope this little storyline was a good surprise to you all! I was a little hesitant about writing it in but I decided to anyway!  
**

**And that song mentioned in here - I'm actually composing it and will be performing it live next month. I'll be sure to leave a link here. ^.^**


	31. This Spartan Life

**Location: Iris Medical Station  
Epsilon Eridani system  
June 4th, 2553  
3:07pm**

"For years, I told myself that you made it out, safe and sound. Became an actress, just like you've always wanted. Got married. Had kids. Had a normal life, you know? You'd be happy."

Those words spoken by her older brother made Celestina shift a little on the sofa. She began to twiddle her thumbs. "There was no normal life if I didn't have my family with me, Caden. I foolishly wanted revenge but I was not built for that. It's not in my nature. I don't even know how I managed to survive 19 years of this Spartan life, but I did."

Caden leaned forward, taking his sister's hand. "You're sure you're okay?"

_No, I wasn't okay. _"I'm seeing you after so long, I don't want to lie to you," Heaving a little sigh, she then went on to explain. "I took our family's death pretty hard. So... I started having hallucinations about all of you. I also made myself promise to myself that I would do whatever I could to keep my friends safe. To not lose anymore people... It didn't occur to me that a soldier's life meant that people around you are going to _die_. So anybody's death that made me believe that I could've done something, I'd have an hallucination of them. Not everyone but it still stung. The last team I was in... two of them died. While I was right there. My previous trainer, Kurt Ambrose, was concerned that I might become 'emotionally unstable' upon having to witness so many deaths over the years so he ordered that I get an extensive psychiatric evaluation and that was when I requested to leave the Spartans."

The look on his face told Celestina that he was struggling to take in all of what she had just said. "I shouldn't have left you."

"Caden-"

"You wouldn't have to go through all that." He said, pulling his hand away.

"That Elite would have killed us both," She asserted. "If anything, you saved my life."

"But this was _not _the life a girl like you should have! You're not built for this, let alone be a _Spartan_..."

It was her turn to take her brother's hand in comfort. "Caden, it's _okay. _Really. It's over now. Everything I've been through is like a distant memory. You don't have to feel bad for any of it. I'm here, you're here, can't we start again from this moment?" Her hands then traveled to his cheeks. "I'm so lucky to get a member of my family back. I don't know how many other Spartan-IIIs can say that, you know. So please don't let my past affect you. It's all good now."

As her older brother, he was entitled to be worried for her. However, he swore to try for her sake. She was a grown woman. If she said that she was okay, she was okay. "Alright. Anything else, sis?"

_Well, there _is _this one _other _thing... But I have absolutely no clue how you're going to react to it. _"Well, um..." She massaged the back of her neck nervously. "I've um... I've... sorta been... with someone for the last 10 years..."

Well, Caden didn't see _that _coming. Stunned, he repeated the last 2 words. "... 10 years."

"Yep," She laughed nervously.

"Uh _huh_," Caden leaned back just a little, arms cross his chest. It was as if he was preparing to shakedown his little sister for information about this mysterious man. "So who is he? Do I get to meet him?"

"If you promise to be nice to him."

"Um, I'm not too sure about that. To date my sister, a certain... _hazing _is in order."

"Caden!" She laughed out loud.

"What? I'm the big brother; I'm entitled to it!" He said, beaming. "Okay, okay, I was just kidding. Is he good to you?"

_Is he good to me? He's the reason why I'm still alive. _"Well, I'll put it this way - he's the reason why I didn't slit my throat when I was 7, my wrists when I was 12, and shoot myself 6 months ago," She knew hearing that kind of confession from her was shocking, but Celestina was determined to let him know that Jun was her whole reason for living. "He's family, Caden, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Hazel eyes widened at her upon hearing that. "Wow. So he saved my little sister's life."

"Yes, he did." She assured with a little nod.

Well, Caden already had someone in mind. Now to see if it was right. "It's Jun, isn't it?"

She gasped as if she had been busted for a major crime. "How did you know?!"

Chuckling at her priceless reaction, he continued with, "Because I saw the way he looks at you. It's as if cupid shoots an arrow through him every time. And plus, I _don't _think he meant to call you 'princess' in front of company but that was probably force of habit."

Celestina had been called 'princess' so many times that it could easily be her birth name. "Yeah, it definitely was..."

"How did you two even decided to get together? And survive for so long without getting caught? Assuming you didn't."

She shook her head at that. "We're snipers for a reason, Caden. We're damn good at sneaking around," She stated with a sly smile. "As for getting together? I've had the biggest crush on him for the longest time. What _I _didn't realize was that he felt the same way about me for years too. One night before I had to leave for a small operation, I just... told him. I was chickening out but the way he beckoned me to tell him what was on my mind, I had a slight feeling that he knew, and I just sang like a canary. It's one of the most embarrassing moments of my life but I got to know how he really felt about me. He would drop everything for me, you know? So I couldn't help but fall in love, even though I wasn't allowed to. I once asked him why would he fall in love with me and his response was 'why not?'"

Caden could doubtlessly see the way her hazel eyes shined as she spoke. The older sibling had another smile tugging a the corners of his lips. "Well I'm glad that, despite everything, you're able to find joy and love to keep you going. Everyone needs it, you know? Including Spartans. I guess the only thing missing is you getting to be a mom. And considering your life, I take it that that's not possible."

A single nod indicated her sadness at that reality, though she kept her smile. "I think it's a dead end for me, Caden, but it's okay. I'll just work on being a great aunt."

He took her hand once more. "In two days, I'll be leaving for Mars to finish the rest of my recovery at home, Celest. I want you to meet Christian. I've told him so much about his aunts and grandparents. He wouldn't be able to _believe _that you're alive, but we'll make something up. I just want you to meet your nephew."

Her response to that were radiant grins across her face. "I'd _love _too! I'll give you my contact info before I leave and you let me know when's the best time and I'll come running."

"Awesome!"

"And Caden?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday."


	32. Happiness

**Location: Celestina's private dorms, Hydra Base, Mars  
June 4th, 2553  
10:41pm**

"I can't wait. In due time, I'm gonna meet my nephew! Ooh, I still can't believe it!"

Her jolliness definitely put a wide smile on his face. Jun laid his data pad on his lap as he addressed her. "Well, I'm happy for you, princess. You've got a family member back _and _a new one too. Not a lot of Spartans can say that. Not after we all stepped into Camp Currahee."

"I wish everyone could..." Celestina said as she climbed into her side of the bed. "Hey, I had a thought. Your dad could still be alive!"

"Celest..."

"He told you to make a run for the transport vessel. You didn't see him die either!"

Jun took her hand in a comforting manner before speaking, keeping his melancholy smile. "It's okay, princess. Death already checked it out. He sustained major injuries and died a few days later."

"Oh..." Well, there went her hopeful expression. "Damn... I was _so _wishing that he'd be alive too. At... least you have closure, sweetie. I mean, I know you said that deep down inside, you always had a little hope that he would've made it."

"But most of the time, I knew he didn't," He tried to shake off all that negativity he would feel whenever he talked about his father. He certainly didn't want to upset Celestina. "But you're right. At least I have closure."

Wanting to provide him with some solace, she reached up and ran her hand past his right cheek. "I never apologized for what I said that day. About leaving to have a normal life with my brother. I _like _this life because you're in it. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"I've always been glad that I go to meet you, princess. Quite honestly? You're the best thing to have ever happened to me. I thought that it was all downhill when my father died but then I met you. And we've been through a lot."

"Yeah, we have..." She then received a loving kiss to her forehead.

"So you never told me much about Christian's mother." Jun leaned against the headboard.

"That's because there is nothing _to _tell about that bitch."

"Ouch. What'd _she _do?"

"Before she and Caden found out about Christian? She had been having an affair."

"You're kidding."

"Oh, but that's not the best part," She shifted her weight onto both of her knees and faced him. "When Christian was about 5 months old, she decided that she wanted out. Said that she didn't love Caden anymore and that she never loved Christian either. Said that her happiness was more important and that she wanted to return to her lover. Caden filed for a divorce right away."

"I'll bet that was probably the quickest divorce anyone's ever seen on Mars. So what became of her?"

"After she left, Caden never heard anything of her ever again. She never even came back to see Christian. If you ask me, it's good riddance to bad rubbish. If I ever meet her? I hope she likes Spartan fist." Celestina curled her hand into a tight fist.

"Somehow, I don't think she might," He simpered at that, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her into an embrace. She instantly responded with her head on his chest.

"Thanks for staying with me tonight. It's been a long day and I'm glad it's ending with you."

He could practically feel the warmth in her tone. "Then you should get some rest."

"Nah..." She dragged in a sigh, making herself a little more comfortable on his chest as she closed her eyes. "I wanna stay like this for a while."

A tiny smile played on his lips. He knew she was tired but he decided to let her have her way, even though he knew for a fact that his light, soft strokes on her head were going to put her to sleep anyway. "Anything you want, princess."

* * *

**A/N: We're reaching to the end of this story soon. :)  
**


	33. Christian Devon

**Location: Jun's office, Hydra Base, Mars  
Cleveland, Ohio, Earth  
July 26th, 2553  
4:31pm**

"Hm?" That soft beep coming from his communications terminal told the second-in-charge of the Spartan Branch that he had a new message. If the thumbnail on that video message said anything, it was from Celestina, who was currently on Mars, in her brother's home to visit her Aunt Caroline and finally meet her nephew, Christian.

Jun decided to fuel his curiosity and open up that file to see what his Celestina had sent to him. She obviously used her data pad to create this video. She held it up with both hands as she spoke into the camera. "Hi,_ Jun! I had this little video made because there's someone I want you to meet."_

That was when, from her left, a young boy of 10 years popped his head into the camera's view. He had wild jet-black hair, hazel eyes and a wide smile. _"Hi, I'm Christian!" _He greeted with an eager wave.

Instantly, Jun had a smile of his own.

_"So yes, this handsome little devil is Christian and he is a gem! Couldn't ask for a better nephew. So we're having a blast over here, sweetie. Everything's going great." _

_"Aunt Celest taught me how to play cards!"_ Christian told him.

Celestina then glared into the camera playfully. _"Don't tell Caden or I'll kill you, Jun." _

"Well, my lips are sealed." He pantomimed zipping his mouth shut.

_"Yeah! Don't tell my dad!" _

Celestina was all in giggles and there was no way she could help it. _"Thanks for letting me come down here, Jun. I really needed this. I wouldn't have met the aunt I almost forgot about and realized how much of a doll my nephew is. It honestly can't get any better than this." _

Jun felt warm and fuzzy on this inside upon hearing that confession from his lover. "I'm glad..."

_"I hope I can meet you and Death and Emiliana and and those awesome Spartans one day, Jun!"_

"You can count on it." He certainly wished Christian could hear him say that.

_"Well, I'm gonna go help Christian with his homework. After which, what are we gonna get to eat for dinner?"_

_"Pizza!" _

_"We're not even halfway through the day and I'm already spoiling him! I'll see you and Death when I get back, sweetie! Love you!" _She blew a kiss at the camera and the picture froze.

At that point, the Spartan never felt so much contentment in his life.

* * *

**Location: Caden's residence  
Losantiville, Seven Hills, Mars  
9:51pm  
**

"You comfy?"

"Yep!" Christian confirmed, slipping under the blanket. "It's been a fun day, aunt Celest. I'm glad that you're here!"

Those bright hazel eyes were probably a new weakness of hers. "Aw, thank you, sweetie. You have no idea how much that means to me," She commented with a little sigh, running her hand past his hair. "After being separated from your dad for so long, I find out that I have a nephew? It was an awesome feeling to have."

"Yeah... Dad always talks about you and Aunt Christine and Grandma and Grandpa. He was so happy to find out that at least you turned out to be alive!"

_Not without some scars but hey. I'll take it. _"I felt the same way," She told him with her beaming smile. "Hey. This might sound a little weird to ask but... did your Dad ever sing you a song before bedtime?"

To that, he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! It's called 'Hero'. It's by his favorite band! He told me that he'd sing it to you all the time."

"Mm hm, he did. Even after all this time, I made sure to never forget it." She said.

"Could you sing it to me, Aunt Celest? I'm so used to it, I don't sleep well if I don't hear it."

_Jun was the only person who heard me sing, but I'm sure as hell not denying my nephew of anything. _"Well, since I asked if I could tuck you in bed, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I do it this one time." Celestina brought her hand to his head once more, wishing she did not have to leave this home. "It was so wonderful to meet you today, Christian. Thanks for accepting me into your life. I'm sorry I couldn't be a part of it for the last 10 years, but I'll work on being a good aunt to you."

"You're getting there."

_Oh gosh, he's gonna make me cry! _"Yeah, you're definitely your father's kid!" She giggled, as she pulled the blanket closer to his chest. "Sweet dreams, Christian," With that, she began to sing the lullaby that had helped her through numerous nights in the past, glad to be able to sing it to her only nephew.

_"Don't fall away, I'll help you to sing again.  
It'll be alright, I'll keep you safe and sound.  
Just take my hand and we'll go anywhere you want.  
We can leave it all behind.  
I'll be the one you call 'hero'." _


	34. So Cold

**On board an unknown Covenant ship  
Time Unknown**

"God _damn _it...!" He cursed with whatever little energy he had left in him as he was rudely thrown onto the floor of the holding cell. His head and chest felt heavy, as if there was a tons of bricks on his back preventing him from sitting up. With some effort, he managed to do so, pushing himself off the ground and shifting his weight to his knees.

That was when he got a clear look at the damage to both of his bare trembling forearms - countless cuts and plasma burns, and they appeared as if they were not going to stop bleeding. His stomach churned at the sight. Everyday, those monsters would attack a part of him to get him to talk. He just had no idea how much more strength he had to not give in. Pieces of his armor had also been ripped away by his interrogators, as well as the body suit underneath.

"Well, this is one hell of a pickle you've gotten yourself into."

That spiteful voice came from directly in front of Jun, and he had encountered it numerous times over the last what felt like days. It was almost tortuous. There was no way it could get any worse than this. "Oh, _fuck_."

"Aw," She titled her head at him, her entire eyeballs replaced with the color of bright red. "I missed you too, sweetie."

It felt sick to stare at that beautiful face with a smirk and eyes like that. "You're _not _Celestina! Stop calling me that!" He ordered with whatever he had in him, still on his knees.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want, _sweetie_," It was just the beginning and Jun knew it. He could not prepare himself for what he was about to hear from her. "And what are you going to do about it, hm? Kick my ass? I'd save my strength if I were you... You're going to need it when you continue to scream for that Brute to stop."

How could his mind be so cruel to him and turn the greatest thing in his life into his enemy? "Leave me alone!" He hung his head, wanting to look away.

She wore a red long-sleeved long blouse that covered half on her thighs, as well as a pair of jeans. "No! No, I think it's time that you understand the gravity of the situation here! You're in some serious shit right now. You need to think about your next move."

"I suppose you're going to tell me?"

"_Damn _straight."

"Save your breath."

"Listen to me, you stupid bitch!" She suddenly changed her tone to a harsh one. "They're keeping you alive long enough for you to tell them something! The Covenant has AAALL the time in the world to play with you, you know, until you cough something up. My advice? Tell them what they wanna know so you can die a quick and painless death," As she spoke, she took slow steps towards him. "How long more are you going to take all of this, Jun? You're strong, but you're _not that _strong. Not mentally, at least. I mean..." A sick smile came to her then as she presented her body to him. "I'm evidence of that."

His arms were burning, his ribs were throbbing with pain, but he tried to maintain his cool. "Shut the hell up."

The hallucination of Celestina had no intention of shutting up. Not now. "It's no wonder you and Celestina worked together _so _well. Both of you are messed up in the same way except that she's got zero willpower. Pathetic, when you think about it," She commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "At least you try to work out your own problems. _How _the hell did she even make it to 20 years of service without losing it out there in the battlefield?"

By then, the Spartan had gotten to his feet, not without some difficulty. His head was spinning but he wanted to put an end to this. "_Don't _talk about her like that."

"Aw, how sweet!" The high pitch in her voice indicating her sarcasm. "Getting all angry when I talk about your precious little Italian whore."

That was did it for Jun. He swung at the hallucination but as if she was expecting it, she pulled her head back and he missed completely. As his body wanted him to give up, he fell back onto his hands and knees, unable to find the strength to get up again.

"That's all you got?" She asked, highly amused by his state as she spread her arms at him. "Come on, I've faced Grunts mightier than you!"

He felt like he had nothing else in him at the moment. "Why are you doing this...?" He asked in a whimper.

"Don't you see?" She lowered herself onto his knees in front of him. "I'm the part of you that wants you to give up! But you're too stubborn to do it! What are you trying to prove, I have no idea. That's your problem, you know. You try to damn hard to be resilient on the inside when in reality, you're just as _broken _as the rest of us. You've _always _been; you just keep it all to yourself! Try to swallow it all! But _why_, Jun? I mean sure, daddy dearest did teach you to be strong, but he didn't say to be a heartless brat now, did he?"

_Great... Now you drag my father into this... _

"But I digress, babe. Anyway, as I was saying, you holding out on the Covenant is only going to make them more inclined to do some serious damage. Are you listenin'?!" She questioned harshly and immediately delivered a hard slap to his face, knocking him down even more. "Pay attention! 'Cause if you, by some sort of miracle, make it out alive? I guarantee that a lot of you will be left behind here. Your sanity is obviously going to be one of them."

Jun had nothing to say to that.

Yet, she was not done there. "I pity poor little hapless Celestina. I mean really. You're gonna die in here, she'll never know what happened to you and she'll spend the rest of her life _hating _you for making her a promise you couldn't keep."

"I tried..."

"What?" She put her hand to her ear. "What was that? You're going to have to speak up, sweetie."

He did not want to give in to the hallucination but he could not help it. "I really wanted to see her again. Now considering where I am? I know that's not possible."

"No, it's not," She said as she got to her feet. "And the quicker you accept that, the quicker you can _die_."

Bright blue eyes gazed intensely at the hallucination.

"Lighten up! Maybe you'll pass out like you did yesterday!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" He turned his upper body around to grab a piece of his broken armor and fling it at her, although now... she was gone.

Twisting his body like that put only more pressure on his ribs and the pain then sunk in. He doubled over, one hand on the ground to support him.

He struggled to catch his breath and found himself needing the comfort of the only item he managed to prevent the Covenant from taking. They could not rip away his knee guards - he reached into the side of his right knee guard and pulled out the set of dog tags - Celestina's dog tags.

It was getting worse almost every single day, but there was nothing Jun could do about it. Not about the torture and certainly not about the hallucinations of his lover.

He could only wait to die.

* * *

**On board an unknown Covenant ship  
Time Unknown**

He was flat on his stomach on the ground, his face buried in the arms when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Shocked, he momentarily forgot about his pains and swiftly reached up to grip that unknown person's wrist. Face-to-face with the figure's delicate hazel eyes, he heaved a small sigh. "Oh. It's you."

"You can't listen to that demonic bitch. You _know _me, Jun. I'm not like that."

"I know, princess. It's just the most painful way my mind can think of to punish me. I just wish that it didn't have to be you."

She ran her hand past the back of his head comfortingly - a habit of hers. "And I really wish it didn't have to be that way," She placed her hands on his right shoulder. "Come on, lean against the wall," She told him, to which he obeyed. "Easy does it."

Jun managed to do so, not without some strain but he did it. "Shit, it burns..."

"Try not to think about the pain, sweetie," She replied in her usual mellow tone as she inspected the burn mark on his left collarbone. "I know it's hard not to but I know you. You're tough as nails! You can handle this; you'll be okay."

He turned his head to her, utterly amazed by her behavior, as well as loving the sleeveless white dress she continued to wear. He knew that the evil one wouldn't be back for a while now. "How is it that you're perfectly you even as a hallucination?"

To that, she gave him her signature grin. "You know how I am. I don't have a mean bone in my body. Only when it counts." Her hands slid down to the palm of his right hand, holding it. "I wish you would be more open to me about your demons, Jun._"_

They had had this conversation before in real life. "I don't mean to keep my own demons from you, I swear. You have a lot of your plate, and I know how much you care about me. I didn't want you to have to worry about me."

"But I'm your _family_," She drawled, wanting him to fully understand those words. "It's supposed to be my job to worry about you, even when you don't want me to."

"I know..." He lowered his head, a little ashamed to look at her disappointed features. "I guess I just prefer to carry my own baggage."

"It's just you and me right now, Jun. Won't you talk to me?"

"I'm such a sucker for you that I don't want to upset the hallucination of you."

"I swear to you, you won't upset me. What's on your mind?"

_Where should I start? _"Kat," He glanced up. "We always fought, sure, but... it's how we were," A smirk formed on his lips right then. "There was this one time she was teaching me how to hack the elevator's control panel and she intentionally locked me in that elevator for 2 hours," The reality of her death then came crashing down on him. "I saw the whole thing. It was Sally all over again. And good ol' Jorge. I'm never going to hear him tease me about you ever again. And I _don't know_ what became of the rest of the team. Did they even make it to the _Pillar of Autumn_? Are they safe?" He let out a heavy sigh in an attempt to mask some potential tears. "And then there's you, princess. I want you to know how sorry I am for making you a big promise that is now impossible to keep. For making you believe in me. Now you're not going to know what really happened to me. I can only hope that you forgive me for it all."

"Sweetie..." Her expression clearly spoke volumes about how sorry she felt for him. "I need you to understand that this isn't real."

"I know this isn't real. I know I'm losing my mind," "But I'll take it."

Another compassionate smile and she leaned in to place a tender kiss on his forehead. "Hang in there," She then rested her head on his shoulder, feeling him wrap his arm around her. _"It'll be alright. I'll keep you safe and sound. Just take my hand and we'll go anywhere you want. We can leave it all behind. I'll be the one you call 'hero'."_

* * *

**Location: Spartan Training Bay, Hydra Base  
****January 3rd, 2552  
10:01am**

"Jun, there is something I have wanted to question you on for a while now."

"Fire away. What's on your mind?"

The two of them had just thoroughly enjoyed observing Fireteam Castle engage in a friendly game of 3-on-3 Capture The Flag amongst each other. Once again, they had a friendly bet and Jun's choice of team lose. After mocking him for it, the AI's tone then turned a little serious.

"Lady Celestina." Death replied, shifting his focus from the bay below them to his Spartan.

"What, you don't approve of me seeing her?" Jun questioned with his smirk.

"You think you are hilarious, do you not?"

"I'd like to think I am."

"Lady Celestina is the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to you, Jun. I would never doubt her about anything."

"Then what's wrong, buddy?"

The brief silence immediately told Jun that Death was about to drop a disturbing bombshell on him. "I informed you that I inherited some of those painful memories, yes? Well... one of them depicts those days you... were in captivity."

He felt his throat compress at that. "... And?"

"And even though you have never breathed a word of it to me... I know of those hallucinations of Lady Celestina."

Well, the jig was up. Jun released an epic sigh in defeat. "Well _shit._"

"And my question is, Jun," Death continued one. "Now that you have reestablished contact with her... are you going to tell her about those hallucinations?"

"Hell no."

"Jun-"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and you know I would never do _anything _that even remotely threatens to break her heart," He affirmed. "This will shatter her. She will be devastated to find out that all of my negativity comes together in her form. I hated to find out that I was in that position in her mind. Imagine what it'll do to her. I won't do it. And Death, _please_, she can't know of this."

As if Jun had to ask! "Now, you know I will never break your trust. It is just that... I assume that you did not reveal this to your therapist either."

"No, he doesn't know," He folded his arms across his chest at that. "Nobody did. Well as it turns out, you've always known though."

"Do you not want to get past it?"

"I _am _past it, buddy. It's all good!" Despite his AI being faceless, Jun could tell easily that Death was not fully convinced. "That hallucination only happened because I was in captivity and the weight of everything I've ever been through came crashing down on me. And I'll admit that I never put in any effort to my physical and mental rehabilitation at first, especially after hearing about the rest of Noble. It made the hallucination worse but... it dawned upon me that Celestina would be pissed at me for giving up like that. So when I started to fight? The demonic bitch went away and look at me! I'm _so _much more better now! I was great after I met you and now I feel fantastic after reuniting with Celest. So Death," He put his hand on his shoulder. "It's all good, buddy. Believe me when I say so."

"You are all I have," Death then declared in response. "I trust you if you tell me that you are alright."

"You can always trust me, buddy."

* * *

**A/N: I realized that I should have included a chapter on Jun's own demons, since Celestina has her own. Hence, this chapter was born! x) I might consider expanding on it in the next chapter before going onto the last one! ^.^  
**


	35. After The Nightmare

**Location: Jun's private dorms, Hydra Base, Mars  
January 21st, 2553  
3:15am  
**

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Just as soon as Jun woke up with a loud gasp from that nightmare, that outburst came from the left side of his bed, the side Celestina slept in. She was sitting up, her red hair disheveled, one hand used to use the blanket to cover her chest, and she was scanning the quarters with her pistol in hand. "Wha-what happened? I don't see anyone!"

He instantly realized that his screaming had woken his lover up, prompting her to believe that there was an intruder in his room. As he struggled for air, he managed to get the next words out. "Sorry about that, princess. I had a nightmare." He apologized sincerely, one hand massaging the back of his neck.

"... Oh," Her tone indicated how embarrassed she felt to have overreacted. "So I can put the gun down?"

Normally, her innocent comments would put a little smirk on his face, but at this moment, all he could think about was catching his breath and that nightmare. "Yeah, you can."

Exhaling loudly, she placed the Magnum on the nightstand. She then pulled up the left sleeve of her tank top that had fallen over her shoulder. "Did you just say you had a nightmare? What was it about?" She leaned over to wipe the thin layer of sweat on his face. "You sounded like you were getting tortured."

He should have known to expect that from her. "It's nothing, really."

"It _is _something. You just don't want to tell me. As always..." She chided as she adjusted her hair. "Nobody said you'd have to face your nightmares alone, you know. I'd gladly jump in head first with you and take out whatever's haunting you. If there's anything I can do to help, just yell for me. I'll come runnin', guns a-blazin'! Okay, maybe without the guns, but you get my point."

Her comment definitely elicited a genuine chuckle from him. "I do, princess. Thanks."

"Anytime, sweetie. Drink some water or maybe take a walk around the base. It might help." Giving him one last tired smile, she lifted the covers over her and proceeded to head back to her peaceful sleep, when Jun suddenly spoke.

"I've been keeping something from you. But I can't tell you what it is."

His words stirred some confusion as well as fear in her. She sat up once more, turning her upper body to him. "You can't? Or you won't?"

"I won't because I don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't," She urged almost immediately. "I don't want you to have to hurt yourself in the process."

"I'm sorry, princess."

That was when she reached up and ran her hand past his cheek to the back of his head. "Don't ever apologize for something that's not in your control. That's what you'd say to me, right?"

If anything, that made the little smile he had grow wider. So he leaned forward for a tight hug and though Celestina was taken by surprise, she made sure he couldn't breathe in their embrace, not caring about the his sweat-coated chest.

How Jun badly wanted what transpired during his captivity to go away permanently - the torture _and _all of his negativity coming together in Celestina's form, especially the latter. He also still could not bring himself to tell her that part of his abduction. No way. Not at the risk of hurting her feelings.

So as he held her body close, he whispered to her, "I love you. I know I don't say it much because I tend to make it obvious but I just want you to know that I _do _love you, and appreciate everything you do for me."

Celestina could not help but think to herself how unique that sounded to her. "I... feel that it should be the other way around, sweetie."

"Regardless..."

"Well then, you're welcome!" She said with a little giggle as she snaked her hand up to the back of his head. "You know I'd do anything for you," Putting what little pieces she could gather together, it became just a little bit clearer to the Head Trainer. "Jun?" She pulled her head back, her arms still around his neck. "Is this about... what went down when the Covenant...?"

She left that sentence open because there was never a need to continue. Jun knew what she meant. For that, he gave a reluctant nod. "Look, it's getting easier handle every day, I swear. But, um..."

"It's the nightmares that come every now and then. Yeah, I of all people get that." She crawled over to get a little closer to him. "I learned a lot time ago that you don't ever escape from past tragedies. You just learn to deal with it. So if you tell me that you're dealing with it, I'll believe you." It was then that the reality their earlier conversation came upon her. "Wait, Jun... If this is about the captivity, what is it that you can't tell me about? I mean, you told me everything about what happened in there."

Another heavy sigh left him. "Well... not everything... I really can't tell you about it, not without hurting your feelings. You know I can't do that to you."

"Goddamn," That word came out in a manner that said she was pleasantly surprised. "Even after all these years, you still continue to surprise me with your love." Wearing her radiant smile, she pulled the covers closer to both of their chests. "Let's try to get some sleep now, okay? Want me to sing you my brother's lullaby?"

"Well, I always did love your singing. Sure, princess." Giving her one last grin, he swathed one arm around her as she lowered her head on his chest, right where his heart was.

_"It'll be alright. I'll keep you safe and sound. Just take my hand and we'll go anywhere you want. We can leave it all behind. I'll be the one you call 'hero'."_

* * *

**A/N: Get set for the last chapter of this story! I'll also post a link to the lullaby along with it. :D  
**


	36. Right Now

**Location: Spartan Training Bay, Hydra Base  
14****th ****October, 2553**

"Emiliana, darling," The ever-so joyous voice of Death rang through the empty Spartan Training Bay. "You look wonderful today."

"Grazie (Thank you), Death. You say that every day!"

"I am afraid you are mistaken, my dear. Yesterday, I believe I said that you were 'stunning'. And then I have called you beautiful, lovely, ravishing, delightful, gorgeous, heavenly-"

Emiliana, Celestina's private AI, held up both hands with a giggle in an attempt to stop her fellow AI. "You have proven your point, dear boy. A charmer, aren't you?"

"How do you think Jun's father married his mother?"

"Well, I suppose it came from somewhere." She responded in her usual teasing tone. "Speaking of which, how is the dear? Celestina updates me on him but I haven't seen him down here in a while."

"You know him, darling. Busy as he should be taking care of his Spartans." He replied.

"Such a sweetheart. And you are taking care of him?" She questioned, though the answer was obvious. She just enjoyed teasing him.

"He will fall apart without me."

"Best not let him hear that."

"You say that as if I should be afraid of him."

"He _is _taller than you."

"Now you are mocking me."

"Somebody has to, dear."

They immediately shared a hearty laugh at that, and Death proceeded to continue only after he thoroughly enjoyed the female AI's angelic laughter. "I do love our relationship. It so often reminds me of the one the children have."

"Yes, Jun and Celestina have a lovely relationship, don't they? The human side of me adores it and also adores ours."

"I do indeed treasure what we have, darling." He declared with a hand over his heart.

"I'm glad! So this means you'll help me prepare the game of Invasion that Fireteam Silver will have in a bit?"

"Dearest Emiliana," If Death had a face, he would be flashing a smile, one dipped in mirth. "I will do whatever you want me to."

* * *

**Location: Rooftops of Hydra Base  
11:23pm**

"Being the top admins of the base rules. We can almost do whatever we want."

"I love the rooftops. It just brings back so many memories..."

With her arm already through Jun's, Celestina moved in just a little bit closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you happy about where our lives ended up?"

His eyes narrowed at that while he was gazing at each and every star that hung above them in the black sky. "I wouldn't say that our lives ended, Celest. I mean... we're still here, aren't we?"

"Oh, you know what I mean."

To that, he lowered his head in a saddened manner. "I wished a lot of things were different, Celest, starting with the Covenant invasion on Tyumen. I wish I didn't have to leave my father. I wish I didn't have to watch so many of our friends die. I wish the rest of Noble were still here. I wish the Covenant didn't do what they did to me. I wish for a lot of things, princess, and I know you do too. But considering the work I'm doing right now and... the person standing before me right now? I'd say it's all good."

Grinning at him, a soft giggle left her. "Took the words right out of my mouth. But then again, you always knew what I was thinking."

"Meh," He shrugged his shoulders at that. "Not all the time."

"Come on," She tugged on his arm and gave him her sweet smile. "What am I thinking of right now?"

"What to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"

"I don't always think of food! Shut up!" She chided, delivering a light slap to his chest.

Oh, how he loved teasing her. Smirking to himself, he turned his upper body to her, resting his elbow on the railing behind them. "Okay, then tell me. What's my princess thinking of right now?"

Red immediately rushed to her cheeks, but she knew she had to get her words out. "The way you look at me."

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinkin' that I wouldn't trade that for anything else in the world."

"The feeling is hella mutual, princess." With that being said, he leaned in and placed the most passionate kiss he could ever place in his life on her lips.

* * *

**A/N: Well, here it is! The last chapter of this story! Thank you guys so much for reading it; I hope you've enjoyed it. x)  
**

**As promised, here's a link to the full version of Celestina's lullaby! - /watch?v=qy3oFs7Wj-Q**


	37. Extra: Stay With Me

**A/N: So a thing about me is that I get tons of "what if" ideas for my stories. In this case, "What if Celest was the one who found Jun?" **

**So obviously, this is not part of the actual fan-fic. Instead, it's an extra unofficial chapter, but enjoy nonetheless. :) I have another one in the works as well! :)**

* * *

"He still won't talk?"

"Not even after the doctors unhooked him from the machines. I must say, he is recovering fast. Physically."

"Yeah, Spartans tend to do that. What I'm concerned about is his mental health."

"He refuses to open up to me, Celestina. All he does is stare into space with a disheartened look and acts as if I'm not even there."

"I guess that's what happens when you get kidnapped and tortured by the Covenant. He's... not been in that position before, doc. We're snipers; we're not supposed to get caught, you know? Hey, you mind if I give it a try?"

"Well, since you've known him for so long, go ahead. But I can't guarantee that he'll react pleasantly."

"Trust me, doc. It's not going to be a big deal. He's put up with my bullshit since we were 7."

* * *

**Location: Lionsong Medical Facility  
October 1st, 2552  
1:45pm **

When Celestina stopped at the doorway private ward, she found him on the bed, his head resting comfortably on the pillow as he gazed at the ceiling. "Jun?" She called out.

Jun very causally turned his head to the direction of that voice, only to find Celestina in a maroon long-sleeved shirt, jeans and black boots. She held onto a clutch purse, as well as a smile. "Hey, sweetie! I bet you're surprised to see me after all these years! I know that I'm super happy to see you!" She walked in completely now, placing her purse onto the sofa provided and rolling up her sleeves. "How are you?" She questioned with her pleasant tone, one hand on his arm. She wanted so badly to ignore the plasma cuts and burns on his arms; just the mention of them tugged at her heart.

All he did was study her with his once-bright baby blue eyes. There were dark circles starting to form around them too. How long had it been since he had a good night's sleep?

When she did not get a response, she tried again. "Jun, it's me. Celestina. I've... been coming back here whenever I can, ever since I was informed of your rescue."

Releasing an epic sigh, he simply returned his gaze to the ceiling. "I know who you really are. You don't have to pretend."

Those words created some confusion in the former Spartan-III. "I'm sorry?"

"I know you're not real and I accept that," He looked at her again. "But give a guy a break, won't you?"

"Jun, I don't-" She narrowed her hazel eyes at him, trying to make sense of this. "I don't understand what you're saying..."

"How is it that you're inside my head but I can't make you go away?" Jun sat up, crossing his legs. "You don't have to make me feel better anymore. I'm no longer in that holding cell or that other room they'd take me to. I'm trying to get better but I can't if you're here. I'm sorry, Celest. You have to go."

A hallucination. That was what he thought she was. She never thought that this would happen to him, of all people. She had always known him to be so strong, strong enough to carry them both. So _how _did this come about? What the hell did the Covenant do to him? "No, no," She spoke in her ever-so pleasant voice. "You've got it all wrong, sweetie. I'm not an hallucination. I _am _real and I'm here with you."

"I know you're with me. Where else would you be?" He turned his body to her, swinging his legs over the bed. "You were always there when I needed you and now you're here, even in my head. Because that's what you're good for, princess. Making me feel better with your grace even when you never knew the full story of what I was going through. That would be my fault though, because I'd _never _tell you anything. I'd always push you away. I don't mean to, honest. I didn't want you to have to worry about me," He then got to his feet, attempting to ignore the pain in his right leg. "But who am I kidding? The more I don't share what's going on with me, the more you worry for my well-being. I knew that. I knew that for a fact but did I say anything to you? _Nooooooo_, because you know why? In _my _world, _you _come _first_. Not me, not Ambrose, no one. And you've always wondered why, haven't you? Father always said that we all lend a hand to someone at some point in our lives and... and when we help them, it'll make us feel better about ourselves. So when I saw you in that pelican, too traumatized to paradrop, I knew you were that someone."

_This is what you'd call a breakdown. _"Now you're just babbling,"

"No, this is the truth! And I'm tired of keeping it all to myself!" His expression seemed like a pained one, and it had nothing to do with the hell his body went through. Fatigue then hit him hard so he quickly sat back down on the side of the bed. "Damn it..." He muttered under his breath.

Celestina wanted to reach for him but she immediately halted her action, unsure of what his reaction to her touch would be. Her inability to convince him that she was real was bringing tears to her eyes.

He did not look at her as he spoke. "I never the courage to tell you any of that. I couldn't afford to be weak in front of you. I wasn't going to be. I was going to carry you no matter how long it would be."

_You fucking idiot! _"I shouldn't have tried to talk to you. I've just made things worse!" One single tear then fell. "I'm sorry, Jun. I should go!" She spun around and was about to walk to the sofa for her purse, when her right wrist was taken in a grip.

"Don't go," Jun pleaded, now having tears. "Please? In that holding cell, when they wouldn't do anything to me, you'd be there, telling me that everything was going to be okay. I knew you weren't real but you didn't let me do the unthinkable. You _know _how many times I wanted to just end it all, to keep myself from giving the Covenant anything and to just..." The mere thought of his experience on board at Covenant ship made his stomach churn. He used his free hand to grip his shirt. "Stop the torture. Years of training couldn't prepare me for _that_. What was I supposed to do? Then you started appearing and... I felt _safe_."

_Hearing and seeing him talk like that... How am I gonna handle this? _"Jun..."

"I don't care that you're not real. I don't _care _that I'm losing my mind. Just please don't go,"

_He seems so genuine. He really thinks I'm an hallucination. Why wouldn't he? He hasn't seen or heard from me in 3 years. I was apparently his source of comfort during his captivity. Even though he's free, the damage had already been done. _

_Fuck this. I'm snapping him out of it. I'm not letting him end up as crazy as I became. _"Jun-" She began, although he cut in when he lifted up her right arm, the one he grasped earlier to keep her from leaving.

"Why do you have that?" He ran two fingers past her current tattoos - the six words - and then stopped at the new one behind them. "A skull wearing a crown - you never had that."

_That's right. The last time he saw me, I hadn't gotten it yet. _"But before I left, I did tell you I was going to get it done. If I were an hallucination, I wouldn't have it now, would I?"

There _was _some truth to her words. "N-no...?"

"Feel this?" Immediately, she placed her bare hands on his cheeks. "A hallucination can _never _replicate the touch of an actual human being. You've felt this hundreds of times from me, right? Isn't there a difference between this and the Celestina from your captivity?"

There certainly was and there was no denying it. The tenderness, the warmth... _This _was Celestina. Jun took possession of her hands, trying to wrap his mind around it all. "You're not messing with me? Are you really real? But-but I haven't even seen or heard from you in 3 years!"

"It's a long-ass story as to why I'm here. But it's okay," She told him softly, her hands now having a tighter grip on his own. "I mean, I know it's been a while, but I'm here to help you now. I'm gonna do whatever it takes-"

"You're beautiful."

It only took those two words to render her speechless, before she was able to get a laugh out. "Thanks." After which, she pulled his head into her chest for a tight hug.

* * *

**Later...**

"You obviously haven't slept in a while."

"How can I? Every time I close my eyes, I see that Brute trying all sorts of ways to get me to talk. All I could do was lie awake and stare at the ceiling."

Celestina had his head on her lap as she stroked it lovingly, in an attempt to keep him calm. "The psychiatrist told me you refused to speak to her or anyone else."

Her other free hand was intertwined with his. "I honestly didn't want to talk to anyone. If I did, they'd ask me about what went down on board that Covenant ship. It's bad enough I can't sleep because of it. And I need to talk about it?"

"You _need _to, sweetie. You can't keep it all in; it'll just drive you nuts," She told him gently, knowing full well about his unwillingness to talk about his thoughts. God, he was such a man. "You don't have to talk to them. Talk to _me_. You know you can trust me."

She felt a small smile coming from him. "Thanks, princess. I don't mean to sound so weak..."

"Shh... Don't say that," She immediately hushed him. "It's totally okay to feel weak, even for Spartans. After all, we're only human. That's what you used to tell me, remember?"

"The tables have certainly turned, haven't they?"

"Well, it's a rare occasion when it does. But when it does happen, I take good care of you, don't I?"

"Yeah, you sure do. The love the hella strong in this room right now..." _If not Celestina, then who else can I talk to? _He took in a deep breath before continuing. "When I was in captivity, I tried to find some sort of escape from the pain. Then I remembered your song - the one your brother used to sing to you. It was all I had until... until you came along. All you'd do is smile at me, tell me to hang on and not give in, and hold me. I knew at that point that I was losing my mind. But I didn't mind. I'd forget about the pain for a while..."

She almost held her breath at his words and the way he delivered them. He was obviously still traumatized. "I won't ask you what went down with the Covenant, and you don't have to tell me. But I _will _do whatever I can to help you get past this. It's my job now."

As soon as she declared that, Jun clasped her hand just a little tighter. "Thanks, princess," Feeling contented, he lifted up his head from her lap and instead sat opposite her. "Look at me - making this whole thing about me. Tell me about you, Celest. How've you been? What have you been up to all this time?"

"Oh! Well, it's sort of explains my presence here," She scratched the back of her head embarrassingly. "I left the program, just like you wanted. Ambrose thought it was probably for the best. I mean, I miss being behind the scope of a sniper rifle, but I'm doing a lot better now. I feel really great!"

Smirking at her, he said, "You _look _great," Reaching forward, he ran his fingers through her now mid back-length hair. "You grew out your hair!"

She lowered her head bashfully at that. "Yeah... You like it?"

Well, that was kind of hard to say. "Uh..." He dragged.

"I get it. I'll get it cut when I can."

"Come on, Celest, I didn't mean it that way."

"Oh, it's totally fine," She waved it off. "Long hair is such a pain. I tend to get lazy when it's time to wash my hair."

He chuckled at that. "Go on."

"As I was close to recovery, I was assigned to be a personal assistant to a Commander Musa," Biting her lower lip, she added, "096."

"He's a Spartan-II?!"

"Former. Augs forced him in a wheelchair," She quickly summarized. "I've been stuck with him ever since. Then a few months ago, he initiated the Spartan-IV program."

"Great," The emotion was completely drained from his voice. "How old are the kids _this _time?"

"They're consenting adults."

"NOW we're getting somewhere!"

She smiled at that. "We're also finding all available Spartan-IIIs and give them a chance to be integrated into the program. That's why I'm here."

As soon as she said that, a realization came to the injured Spartan that caused his smile to fade away. "Celest? I need you to tell me everything you know about the rest of Noble. People didn't think I was paying attention just because I refused to talk to anyone. But I was listening. And there are just _so _many rumors. What happened to them?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, her heart beating slightly faster now. "I knew you'd ask me about that."

"So it's true?" The dejection was easily shown in his eyes. "They're really all gone?"

"But they completed their objective, sweetie." She reached for his hands.

"It's not fair," He lowered his head. "Why was I the only one who made it? A whole team doesn't just get destroyed like that!"

"Let's be honest," She cupped his cheeks and had him look up at her. "They'll be happy to know that someone made it out alive."

She was trying to comfort him to the best of her abilities. He knew that. Even though it would not take the sting out of it, she was right. It was always a good thing if someone survived. "I'm gonna miss them."

"I know, sweetie. I know."

_Alright, stop being a buzz kill. You haven't seen Celest in years. Don't make her sad. _"So you're finding all available IIIs. You were going to ask me to join?"

She nodded. "If the doctors clear you to return to active duty and if you want to, I can put you in charge of a Fireteam or be the Sniper of one. Or... you can take up an administrative role like mine - be a recruiter and a trainer. You wouldn't be in active duty anymore."

He titled his head at her after processing all of that. "So... if I take up an admin role... we'd be working together?"

"Every so often, yeah."

"I'm in."

She honestly did not expect such a quick reply, to be honest. "Wait, what?"

Understanding her confusion, Jun took her hands in a gentle grip. "I'm done, Celest. I was a pathetic mess while in captivity. The only reasons I can function right now are because I'm back in civilization and _you're _here with me. Other than that, I can't sleep or eat properly. The nightmares don't stop even as I'm awake."

"You can recover from it all. I mean, look at me." She said.

With a sad smile, he ran one hand past her cheek. "I'm not as strong as I used to be, princess. Not anymore. Not after going through what I went through."

"You're gonna bounce back," She swore. "You will. And I'm gonna do whatever I can to help you."

There was indeed, something she could do for him. "You can stay with me."

For that, he received her glowing smile. "I'll do whatever you want me to."

That was more than enough for the Spartan. "God, I'm just so glad you're here," He sighed, pulling her into a hug. "It's been hell, Celest. All I wanna do is hold you."

With a little giggle, she settled her head comfortably on his shoulder, dumping her own legs over his on the sofa. "Your wish is my command, boss."

* * *

**A/N: This little idea was floating around in my head for a while, so this was the outcome! Hope you guys liked it. :D **


	38. Extra: Heart To Heart

**A/N: Take this as an alternative to Chapter 3 "Found". **

**Heck, I think I like this better! **

* * *

_"I leave tomorrow."  
_

_"Oh. I didn't think it'd be so soon." _

_"Me neither, but Ackerson needs my skills immediately."_

_"I understand. Just... come back home, okay?" _

_"Always, princess." _

* * *

**Location: Rooftops of AMBER Base  
Beaumontia, Epsilon Eridani system  
7th July, 2543  
10:59p****m**

Celestina waited ever so patiently on the rooftop of her home, AMBER Base, for her fellow team member to join her. He had finally returned from his mission after 10 days away from the team. She had missed him. She would always miss him. Him being away always made her realize how dependent she was on him.

"Ugh! I swear, these black ops always suck the life out of me," She then heard him groan as he finally reached the rooftop, carrying a mysterious brown paper bag. "Ackerson _does_ realize that I have a _team_, right?"

All she was thinking about was how awesome it was to have him back; it would explain the goofy smile on her face. Then again, she always had that one for him. "Ackerson thinks you're the best. Why else would he choose you every time?"

Jun tilted his head in thought. "Hm... Because I have no soul?"

She reached forward and delivered a light slap to his chest. "You know you're a rationalist, dumbass."

"So am I a rationalist or a dumbass?"

"Both, my rationalistic dumbass!" She cheered.

_Ah. Her smile and laughter. Certainly missed that. _"I got you a present," He said, handing her the brown paper bag.

"You always bring me things," She accepted the bag with a wide smile.

"Hey, for my troubles, Ackerson said I could help myself to whatever I wanted. You think I won't cut a slice for you and Emile?"

"Good point," Her hazel eyes instantly lit up like the lights on a Christmas tree. "NO WAY!" She squealed like a 5-year-old, holding up her gift of a magazine of Sniper Rifle bullets, out of the several that were in the bag. "YOU GOT ME THE HIGH VELOCITY, ARMOR-PIERCING VARIANT?! They take the hat off an Elite at 2 thousand yards! AND THEY AREN'T CHEAP!" She stuffed the magazine back into the bag and immediately jumped into his arms, giving him a tight hug. "Thank you, Jun! You're the best!"

"You know I take care of my girl." He said with a pat on her back.

"Ooooh. Best not let Emile hear that. He'll get jealous!"

"Come on," He dragged playfully. "'Princess' has always been better than 'baby girl'."

"_I'll _be the judge of that." She told him with a little wink.

_Tease. _He released an epic sigh as he leaned against the solid railing of the rooftop.

"Tired?" She questioned as she did the same.

"It wasn't an easy mission."

"Obviously," She placed the bag on the railing and turned to him. "Something's bothering you."

Jun gave her a pleasant smile like he always did. "Not really."

"Why do you even try to lie to me? You know I can easily read your cute face."

"You think I have a cute face?"

"Don't act like you don't know that."

"I'm an innocent little boy. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on, stop avoiding my question!"

"But nothing is bothering me, princess." _What would make her think that? Regardless, it doesn't mean she needs to know. She can't ever know. _

She lowered her head, hiding a sad smile. "No, you're not."

He was certainly surprised by her assurance. "Come on, Celest. We're having a good time here! Don't cloud your mind with trivial things. I told you-"

"'It's nothing'," She glanced up at him and now he could very easily see that smile of hers - one filled with pity. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

She had him good. _What _was he supposed to say to that?

"Jun... I'm not that same little girl you used to know. Well, not entirely. I have a better grip on myself now. Even though I still need you, I'm strong enough to stand on my feet at least. Which means I can hear _you _out now. And I can help."

"Celest," He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Where is this coming from, dear?"

She looked away briefly, as if she was ashamed of something. "When you returned just now and gave me a hug, you looked like you were really relieved about something. I could easily see it on your face. And when you told me to wait for you here, you looked like you desperately needed a time to yourself or you were going to lose your mind."

"You got all that just by looking at my face? Have you always been so observant, Celest?" He questioned playfully, forcing a smirk. _Anything to try and turn this around. She can't know. _

She knew she wasn't getting through to this stubborn Spartan and it was annoying her. God, he was _such _a man. "You know what I've always loved about our relationship? The fact that I could tell you anything, even the simplest and silliest of things. And you wouldn't mind. There wouldn't even be a hint of annoyance on your face. Since the day we meant, you've been looking out for me, making sure I made it this far into my life. Nothing I ever do can repay all the things you've done for me for all these years. But you know what I've always _hated_ about our relationship? The fact that you don't treat it as a two-way street."

At the word 'hated', he felt as if she had delivered a hard slap across his face.

"Why is it that you don't tell me what's on your mind, when you know I'd be more than willing to help you? No one said you had to carry everything all on your own. I mean, I know I can't magically cure all your problems but I'd like to think I can."

_I messed up. The black op, Celest... It went wrong. They told me that building was clear to blow up. They told me! But... but there was still a _child _in there. I asked them and they told me it was clear. They told me... And now an innocent child is... _

_I wanted out. I told Ackerson straight to his smug face that I wanted out. But he's not letting me go, Celest. He won't. What Ackerson wants, Ackerson gets. And he wants my skills. _

_He told me to forget about it. That causalities _will _happen. That I should let it go. But I couldn't. This was an innocent child we were talking about.  
_

_So he knew he'd have to hit me right where it hurt. _

_He said he'd have _you_ participate in his black ops instead. _

_And he _swore _that you wouldn't come back home to me. _

_How? _How _can I tell you any of this, princess? And shatter your impression of me? You think of me as your superhero. What kind of a superhero would I make if I don't stay strong? I won't let any of this get to me, but I won't let you know of this either. _

With a determined look on his face and, to her surprise, he pulled her into a hug, his hand on the back of her head and upper back. "I promise: I'll always take care of you."

She shut her eyes tightly at that, her own arms making their way around his waist on instinct. "But who's going to take care of _you_?"

"Didn't you know? It's always been _you_, princess. It may not appear like you do a lot, but you have no idea how much you've helped me over the years. For example: hugging you like this?" He held her just a little bit more closer to his chest. "It gives me the assurance that everything is going to be okay."

Celestina hated herself for being such a softie; just hearing that statement caused her eyes to water almost immediately.

"And do you have any idea how infectious your smile is? One look and it's like all is right in the world again."

"And _you're _the reason why I get to keep my smile," She lifted her head from his chest to look up at his blue eyes and present him that smile he was talking about. "I'm glad I'm good for something."

That prompted him to place his hands on the side of her head and let them run to the back of her head until they stopped at the back of her neck. "Come on, how many times do I have to tell you not to put yourself down? Everyone's flawed in some way, you know. You're not alone. You've got me."

"And I'm really glad I do! Thanks, Jun."

Returning her smile, he enveloped her in the same hug, letting her rest her head on his upper right arm. "I'm just being a typical man, princess. I don't want to burden you with my problems. I can handle it all, really. You don't have to worry a thing. But should there be a time where I need you, I know for a fact that you'll be here."

"You got _that _right."

Jun couldn't stop that smile that was forcing its way to his lips when he heard that. Out of pure instinct, he placed a soft peck on her head.

"Heyyy, that's new!" She commented in a joyous fashion, lifting her head up once more.

"Don't like it?"

_Tease. _"I don't think I said stop."

"Suit yourself, princess." With that, he leaned in and this time, the next kiss was to her lips.

When he pulled back, her cheeks were red as tomatoes and there was no hiding it. Celestina was robbed of her speech. _DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?! OH MY GOSH. HOW IS IT THAT I'M NOT FREAKING OUT?! _Managing to secure a decent grip on her thoughts, the words that came out of her mouth were, "I... still didn't say stop."

"Lucky for me, Emile wasn't lying when he told me that you had a thing for me."

_Emile? A thing for you? _"That little-! I'm going to choke him with his own combat knife!" When she began to pull away from him, Jun managed to hold onto her hand.

"Hey, don't go!"

She turned his head to him. "I won't take long! I'm just going to kill him, that's all!" She assured, as if it was a normal thing to say.

He could only chuckle at her, to which her question was, "What's so funny?"

"You are so _adorable_!" He told her in between laughs. "No wonder I couldn't help but fall in love with you!"

"Wow..." She was genuinely surprised by his statement. "I mean, I knew you love me, but I didn't think you'd ever _love me _love me."

"Oh yeah? Why not?" He questioned after he managed to stop his laughter, with his hands on his hips.

"'Cause I'm a whiny little bitch who can't seem to control her emotions like a Spartan should and I always run to you for every little thing?"

"Hm..." Taking what she had just said into consideration, he then asked, "Okay. How about the fact that you're cute, can handle the sniper rifle like a boss, and sing like an angel?" He used a finger for each point he made.

"Aw geez..." She turned her head away in embarrassment.

"You're super kind to everyone you meet, amazing at knifing, and the best at infiltration out of all of us."

She was loving this, but her cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning too much. "Come on, you've proved your point."

"Also, I absolutely love the way your eyes light up every time you smile."

"... You done?"

"For now."

"Shut up!" She squealed, unable to help herself. "You talk too much!"

He smirked at that. "Why don't you shut me up then?"

That did it for Celestina. She threw her arms around his neck and returned the first kiss to him.

* * *

**A/N: I really _think _I like this better. o.O  
**

**Hope you've enjoyed! :)**


	39. Extra: Anger, Hatred, Fear

**A/N: I've always been meaning to do a chapter with an appearance by everybody's favorite Spartan-II, Kurt. So I managed to come up with this! Hope you guys like it; I'd like to consider it an official chapter to the story. ^.^  
**_**  
**_**_Summary: After leaving Shadow Team to receive the psychiatric treatment she needed, Celestina is visited by her former trainer, Kurt Ambrose._**

* * *

**Location: Celestina's room, Camp Commandant's residence, Camp Currahee**  
**March 28th, 2549**  
**9:37am**

"At ease, Celestina. This isn't a formal visit, after all. Are you settling down, okay?"

"Yeah, boss. The room is awesome!" She grinned warmly at him, settling on her bed after giving him a crisp salute. "Certainly feels homely."

"I'm glad," He walked further into her room and took a seat on the chair at her desk after turning it around to face her. "You'll begin your sessions tomorrow and we hope you'll be able to recover once and for all."

Celestina gave him a forlorn half-smile for that, glancing down at her feet. "It's almost like you knew I'd go crazy with the guilt."

"I'm terribly sorry about the twins."

"Not as sorry as I am, boss."

Kurt Ambrose was all too familiar with Celestina's case. There were only a handful of Alpha Spartans that fit the mold of a Spartan-II so he fought to extract them from the mainline Spartans and, in a way, to save whoever he could from suicide missions. He honestly wish he could have protected all 300 of them, but he couldn't. All he could do was hang on to those who were still alive as of today, with one of them in the same room with him right now.

"I read your report on Rhonda. I saw the helmet footage about Ryan."

"This is the part where you tell me that there was nothing I could have done?" She returned her attention to him again. "Sorry, boss, but it's nothing but a broken record to me."

Kurt should have expected that to come out of her mouth. Who knows how many times people might have told her that.

Celestina was a special case. He had always known that. He had always known because she was not as ruthless and aggressive as the rest of the IIIs. Sure, she had the physical strength to get through all those trainings as a kid but her need for revenge (and, from what he's seen, motivation by Jun-A266) was what drove her to stay and become a Spartan. And one of the best, he might add.

Her mental strength was another story, however.

She participated in several recon operations and infiltration missions, some of which she managed to gain the trust of Innie organizations and tear them down from the inside. But how ironic it was that, when it came to her own feelings, she could not use her amazing acting skills to hide them.

She was kind, gentle and sweet girl, who always held a smile for everyone. Every time Kurt glanced at her, he would see a young woman who was damn skilled at what she did, but never should have said 'yes' to those ONI agents when they asked her whether she would like to get revenge for the invasion of her homeworld and the death of her family.

"Celestina," Kurt started out. "I understand. You know I do. But you can't always think like that. How many times have you been through something like this already? You should know by now that people around us _are _going to die and most times, we can't save them, no matter how badly we wanted to. We can only take care of the people who are still here."

She appeared as if she was seeing right through him like glass. "But why? Why is it that the people we love have to die? Why can't they stay just a little longer? Why can't we find a way to save them?"

This was that 'phase' Celestina would be in when she started over-analyzing her situation and, ultimately, find ways to blame herself for the deaths of the people she felt she could have saved. "If I knew all the answer, or at least knew someone who did, I'll tell you in a heartbeat," He got to his feet and instead walked up to her, prompting her stand up as well, in respect for her trainer and superior. "Now, I'm no therapist. The doctor you're going to see tomorrow onwards will help you get over your way of thinking permanently. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to help you either."

"You've already done so much. I'm tired of being a burden."

"No one said that."

"But they're all thinkin' it," She was picking at her fingernail at this point, unable to look at him in the eyes. "I know they are. They say I'm not aggressive enough, that I rely on my feelings too much. Basically, my behavior is non-Spartan behavior."

"That's not what it is, Celestina," He said. "You're just a little different. But not for all the wrong reasons like you _think _they are. Whatever the real reasons are, there are people here who _are _willing to help you. Starting with me," For that, he presented a little smile. "Surely there's something I can do."

"You really wanna help, boss?"

"Yes."

"Then let me go."

Kurt narrowed his eyebrows at her. "Pardon?"

She took a step further to stress her point. "You've always looked out for your Spartans no matter what. None of us have ever asked you for anything but I just want this _one thing_ and that's to leave the program."

"Celestina," Kurt knew that she was not thinking straight. Not while she was battling all these emotions within her – the anger, the hatred, the fear. "I think you're going a little too far."

"I'm _not _Spartan material!" She unexpectedly shrieked, though Kurt's Spartan training prepared him for an outburst of any kind. Tears formed in her eyes right then and there. "I never was! I should have never said yes to that ONI agent in the first place! You shouldn't have picked me to be one of the 300 out of the 497 orphans at this camp! And you shouldn't have pulled me out of Alpha! You should've let me _die_ with the rest of the company in PROMETHEUS!"

The one thing Kurt has always admired about Celestina whenever he talked to her, was her innocence. She would always remind him of how human Spartans actually used to be, before everything they ever knew was taken from them. He loved how sociable she was, how down-to-Earth, despite all she had endured. He loved how… normal she was.

So Kurt nodded at that, giving him some time about what to say next and her to calm just a little. "Okay, then what about Jun? If I were to pull him out of whatever mission he's in right now with Noble Team and bring him here, can you still say all those things again, but to his face?"

Tears continued to stream down her face, but her expression told him that she was a little puzzled by his words.

"You think I don't know how you two stick together like glue? How dependent you are on him? So it's only fitting that _he _be dependent on you too. So I'm asking you, Celestina, do you think he'll like all the things you just said?"

_Does he know? Is this was this visit was about? _"Where are you going with this, boss?"

"I know about the suicide attempts."

She raised her eyebrows upon hearing that, but attempted to keep her composure. She crossed her arms under her chest and tried to maintain the eye contact. "What suicide attempts?"

"The one when you were 7, a few weeks after training started and you kept having nightmares about your family. And there's the one where your Team, Phantom, had a joint operation with Olive Team and two of its members were killed - Amy and Jennifer? You had grown quite fond of them."

Celestina clearly remembered the first one – it was the day she realized that she had gained a new family member.

"_But why, Celest? Why would you try to do that?" _

"_WHY DO YOU THINK, JUN?! The nightmares don't wanna stop! You know who'd come check up on me when I had nightmares? My brother, Caden! But he's not here anymore! Nobody is! I just… I just want it to stop…" _

"_Don't do that. Please? It'll hurt. And that's not a nice feeling. You'll be in lots pain and I don't think there's anything I can do for you. But I don't want that; I want to be able to help princess Celestina."_

"Yes, he promised you that he wouldn't tell me but he couldn't take the chance that you would try it again and again," Her silence and inability to look at him anymore said that he had the green light to continue. "He was just looking out for you, that's all. I'm sure he didn't mean to break his promise."

"No, I'm sure he didn't…" She murmured, though Kurt easily heard her voice breaking.

He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out the same way. "I picked you to be one of the 300 Spartans… because you were smart and hard-working. I pulled you out of Alpha… because you demonstrated that you were on par with a Spartan-II. And I didn't let you die with the rest of the company because I saw you for all that you were worth. So I had to prevent that from even remotely happening. Celestina," He then closed the gap between them, firm hands on her shoulders. "You _are _Spartan material. If you truly weren't, I wouldn't have picked you at all. You're just more human than any of the other IIIs. That's something you can't faulted for."

With her head lowered, she still produced a chuckle, though he quickly realized that it was a genuine one. She lifted her head up and said to him, "You sound just like Jun. It's really comforting, considering how 'dependent' I am on him, as you put it," She wiped away any remaining tears and took a breath to calm herself. "You know, if you're trying to get me to work harder at beating this thing… it's working."

That was more than enough for Kurt to smile. "That's good enough for me, Celestina." He acknowledged with a gentle pat on her head.

She giggled at that. Every stinging emotion that was let out seemed miniature to her right now. Though she knew they'll return once again, they would be a little easier to handle. "So… are ever going to call me 'Celest'? Or do you just have a thing for long first names?"

"Well, you've already got other nicknames like 'princess' and 'baby girl', don't you?"

The female Spartan felt like a nuclear bomb had been dropped on her at that moment.

"Surely I get my own way of calling you?" He questioned with a smirk, thought it was a small one.

"You're way too observant for your own good, boss." She narrowed her eyes at him in a playful manner.

He could only shrug his shoulders and conclude it with, "Sorry, Celest, but I'm not sorry."

And her smile grew into a cheerful grin.


	40. Extra: Future

**A/N: Halo: New Blood blew my mind. I was really happy to know that 343 brought back Jun in Halo: Initiation and then brought him back in NB to further show us what he's been up to. **

**So I decided to write this little chapter based on New Blood, so obviously, there's SPOILERS if you haven't read it yet! **

**Since I started writing this story before the release of NB, I'd always thought that there was a single facility where the augmentations and trainings for the Spartan-IVs would happen. But it appears that it jumps here and there, so I *guess* this isn't really an official chapter, but at the same time, it is...? **

**Either way, I hope you enjoy. x)**

* * *

**Location: Infirmary, Spartan Training Facility, orbiting an unknown dwarf planet  
24th December, 2554**

"Merry Christmas Eve."

She stirred just a little bit more before finally opening her eyes to the near-blinding light. She lifted her head up but covered both of her eyes with one hand, groaning in annoyance. "Could somebody shut off the sunlight...?"

"It's just the ceiling light, princess," The voice continued, dipped in mirth.

She smiled at that and removed her hand from her eyes, still attempting to blink the sleep away. "Hey," She greeted, though her tone easily indicated her tiredness. "How are you feeling?"

"Somehow, getting exposed to space is better than getting tortured by the Covenant. I'm good, princess, but you've been out a while." Jun had sat up on the bed, wrapped a blanket around his upper body and pulled it a little closer to himself.

"How long was I even out?" She asked, rubbing her left eye.

"I woke up 2 hours ago to find you sound asleep."

Celestina then took a glance at her watch, horrified. "Holy shit! It's the 24th! I've been asleep for more than 7 hours!" She leaned back against her chair, hands covering her face as she faced the ceiling in despair. "UGHHHHH, I'm such a _sloth_!"

Though his own fatigue trying to get the best of him, he managed a smile. Her dramatic gestures would always make him feel better. "You're just tried, that's all. I'm guessing you've been here all this while?"

"Yeah... I told Musa that I wasn't going to leave this station until you had woken up," She admitted to him, massaging the back of her neck. "Didn't care if it was going to take months. But thank goodness it's only been a few days. He'll be happy to know that you're doing fine now. As will Death."

"Death will probably slap the hell out of me for getting myself back in the hospital."

"Not if _I _do it first, you stupid little shit."

Oh. Jun knew exactly what she meant by that. "So you know, huh?"

"What the hell did you think you are: some kind of Superhero?"

"Hey, O'Day was too busy gritting her teeth at Schein and Musa was, well... he couldn't exactly do anything sitting down. You really think I would've been able to just stand there, staring at Schein like an idiot without doing anything? My Spartan instincts don't work that way, princess."

"You could've died."

"But I didn't."

She sighed heavily at that, with a look that could have easily killed anyone else on sight. "Whoever said that Emile was the stubborn one..." After a few head shakes of disapproval, she rested her head on his knee, which prompted him to stroke her head in a doting manner. "But I'm really glad you're okay. I was still downstairs in the War Games room when that explosion happened. I couldn't reach Musa or you."

"I'm glad you're okay too," His calm tone told Celestina how relieved he was to see that she wasn't harmed. "Wish I could say the same for O'Day."

"She was what those trainees needed," She lamented, tracing circles on his thigh. "There's no way I'll be able to find another drill instructor as tough as her."

"She was one of a kind," He added, feeling for her untimely death. "But when the time comes, you'll find someone just as passionate."

"At least you got that bitch traitor. That'll make up for something," Then she lifted her head up, with Jun's hand now falling to her cheek instead. "Speaking of which... what _is _it with you and traitors? And getting exposed to _space_? Jesus, this better not be a fucking pattern."

Somehow, that brought a little smirk to his face. Mainly because of how she had put it. "Let's hope not, princess. The future of the Spartan Branch depends on it. If we continue to have any more episodes like this, it'll ruin our independence."

"You guys really need to run extensive background checks on the people you recruit. Though I can't blame you guys either – some people are fantastic liars and good at covering their tracks."

"Indeed. Which is why we have to be more observant than ever."

"We'll get by this," She assured, hands on his thigh. "I know we will. This is just a setback and setbacks are bound to happen now that we're a part of something this huge," That was when she presented him a rare smirk. "But _because _we're a part of _this_, we're bigger and badder. We can send them all running. They just have to _dare _to try again. And when they do, we'll make sure they regret it."

For a good 3 seconds, Jun studied her face with a look of approval on his own face. Keeping her grin, she questioned, "What's up?"

"Nothing, it's just…" His look of admiration continued as he stroked her cheek. "Whenever disaster would strike, you'd look like your whole world had collapsed. I… don't think I've ever seen you look so strong. But then again, I've always known you were super strong, not just in the physical sense." He squeezed both of her upper arms to emphasize his point.

Another beaming smile and she took the Spartan Commander by surprise by pressing her lips against his. He smiled into the kiss, enjoying every second of it, unbothered by the fact that anyone, at any moment, could walk in. Even if it was Musa, the duo were sure that he probably had known about their relationship a while back, but for some reason, chose not to say anything.

Celestina pulled back in a painfully slow manner, making her kiss linger a little longer. "Merry Christmas, Commander."

"Merry Christmas, princess."


	41. Extra: Mini Spartan

**A/N: A chapter I'm been wondering whether or not to write because of the nature of it. But hey, it's fan-fiction! Enjoy! :) **

_**Summary: Celestina has a little secret that she's struggling to tell Jun.**_

* * *

**Location: Spartan Training Bay, Hydra Base  
Mars  
23****rd**** November, 2553  
9:03am**

"GOOD Morning, Lady Celestina! Exquisite day, is it not?"

"I guess so, Death."

"And YOU! You are getting lovelier every day!" He complimented with a hand cupping her chin.

For that, she smiled gratefully. "Aw, aren't you just precious?" Although… the smile then disappeared. "Cut the act, Death. I know why you're here."

"Oh?"

Celestina straightened her back after leaning over the railing to watch the new batch of Spartans train. "Jun suspects that I'm keeping something from him so he's appointed _you _to do a little detective work and play some mind games with me in order to figure out what exactly that is."

Death was silent for just 2 seconds. "In my defense, Lady Celestina… I _did _warn him that you were rather intelligent."

She gave him a genuine sweet smile for that. "Thanks, but I can handle my own problems. Tell Jun you couldn't get anything from me."

He bowed at that. "As you wish, Lady Celestina," Death spun around to seemingly leave, but he halted his action and titled his head to her once more.

"What's up?" She asked.

"This might be an error on my part but…" He turned his full body to her again, while scanning his surroundings. "I am… detecting a _second _heartbeat."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "_Heartbeat_? Death, you're in a military base; there are _thousands _of heartbeats here!"

"Nooooo…" He dragged. "This is _different…_"

Speaking of hearts, Celestina's was beating like a drum at Death's actions. After glancing around, Death finally set his sights on her stomach, bending over and eying it suspiciously.

With the jig up, she grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her, while she wiggling her finger at him. "You CANNOT tell Jun!"

"Oh my goodness!" He squealed like a little child. "Am I going to be an _uncle_?!"

"Can it, Death, someone might hear you!" She took a quick peek around.

"I apologize but I cannot contain my happiness!"

She sighed deeply, mumbling her next words, but it was enough for the AI to hear. "I'm glad _someone's _happy about this…"

"My lady?"

"It's nothing," She waved her hands in front of him. "Look, you really _can't _tell Jun. Death, I need you to back me up on this!"

"But he cannot be kept in the dark!" He said with awe.

"I'm just trying to find the right time! So in the meantime, I need your word that you can keep this a secret from him."

"I-"

"Pleeeeeeeease?" She tugged at his arm. "For your Lady Celestinaaaaaa?"

"Well, I…" Maybe it was lingering habit he had inherited from Jun, but Death could not bear to disobey her request. "Alright. For my Lady Celestina."

* * *

**Location: Celestina's private dorms  
10:26pm**

"Is the princess still in a bad mood?"

As she was lying on her back on the bed, Celestina removed the pillow she had been using to cover her entire head with. "I'm _not _in a bad mood!"

"… Doesn't sound like it to me." Came the reply from the bathroom.

With a mighty growl, she dumped her pillow over her face once more.

Jun emerged from the bathroom and joined Celestina on her bed with a light jump, pulling the pillow off her face. "What's wrong? A fictional character in your audiobook having troubles?"

The corner of her lip curled into a half-smile at his question. "Lucky guess. The main character's upset because she's keeping a secret from her boyfriend."

"Why? What's the secret?"

"They… haven't revealed that yet. But she's worried that her boyfriend would get made at her."

"Well, I hope it works out for them," Moving her fringe away from her eyes, he then asked, "I have an idea. Why don't we visit Christian?"

He saw her entire face light up. "Really?"

"Well, if it will cure this period of sadness, I'll take you everywhere you want."

"I think seeing Christian might do me some good. Yes, I'd love that!" She told him, beaming.

"Then it's settled. We'll let Musa know and he can give us a day off."

* * *

**Location: Caden's residence  
Losantiville, Seven Hills, Mars  
25****th**** November  
9:25pm **

"You cheated."

"I'm just good, Jun!"

"Well, that's only because your aunt teaches you and she's quite the shark." Jun replied as he reshuffled the cards in his hands.

"But she says you always let her win!"

"I used to, but then when I tried to get serious, she would destroy me!" He revealed. "She doesn't believe me when I tell her I'm trying."

While Celestina was having a chat with her aunt, Jun and Christian were bonding over a game of cards, as they always did (as long as Caden did not know). They were sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of Christian's bed. He had just beaten his uncle again in a game of poker and the truth was Jun was letting his nephew win. Why wouldn't he? Christian was a bundle of energy, and now his family.

"Jun?"

"What's up, buddy?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How come you and Aunt Celest don't have any kids?"

Jun glanced at him curiously at the 10-year-old as he picked up his glass of scotch. "Kids, you say? Why all of a sudden?"

"Well, you and aunt Celest have been so good to me! I always think that you two would be awesome parents!" He answered heartily.

The Spartan-III smirked that Christian's enthusiasm. "Well, buddy… your aunt and I have only known a life of war. It's not something we're really interested in, you know?"

Titling his head, he then asked, "But how do you know for sure what Aunt Celest feels?"

"Not to brag, but I know your aunt inside out. It's kind of my thing." He took another sip.

"I'll bet!" He chuckled at that.

"Okay, my turn to ask _you _a question, but there's something you have to promise me."

"What's that?"

"You _won't_ tell your aunt Celest that I asked you this. At all." With that, he presented his fist to the boy.

Christian collided his own fist with Jun's. "Promise!"

He leaned in close, worried as if Celestina could hear him somehow. "If your aunt was in trouble, she would tell me, right?"

Of course, Christian could not understand why Jun would ask him something like that. "What do you mean?"

"Well…!" Burying his entire face in his large hands, he rested against the side of the bed, appearing to drown his unspoken sorrows. "You aunt has been keeping a secret from me but for the life of me, I _can't _figure out what it is!"

Thought amused by his uncle's actions, Christian was going to try his best to help him out. "Maybe she'll tell you later?"

"You think?"

"I really don't know. Girls are weird, Jun."

* * *

**Location: Celestina's office, Hydra Base  
10:34pm**

Celestina leaned against her desk, deep in thought as she waited for Jun to walk in. He was conversing with Musa about tomorrow's augmentations session and would join her in her office in a little while.

She felt as if there were a hundred and one voices in her head, all battling for dominance. _When _to tell Jun about her little secret? He was already suspecting her and he could usually tell when she was lying to cover her tracks. Celestina was probably – no, obviously the only one who knew Jun inside out. She was his best friend, his _family_. However, this _one _thing – she could not figure out how he would react.

"Finally got rid of the old man," All the thoughts in her head dissolved when the door to her office slid to an open and one of the Commanders walked in. "Don't get me wrong: he's great company and all, but I've always found better company in the princess."

She was definitely happy to hear that. "I had a great time."

"So did I. Even though one might not define getting repeatedly defeated at poker by a 10-year-old as a 'great time'," Jun stopped at a distance from her. "He's a sweet kid. I'm glad to be a part of his life."

"You're family, Jun. It's only right." She said solemnly.

That did it for Jun. Time to jump in headfirst. "Okay, Celest, what's going on?"

"Huh?"

"Let's not pretend, princess. You've been acting shady for the last 6 days now. I've been explaining away your changes in behavior but a guy can only take so much!" He told her distraughtly.

She folded her arms across her chest. "What did Death tell you? You sent him on a scouting trip, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're taking about." When Celestina continued to glare at him, showing him that she was not to be fooled, Jun gave in reluctantly. "Death _did _warn me that you're rather intelligent."

"That'll teach you a lesson," She said with a smirk. "But I don't blame you. You're used to me telling you everything. I keep _one _secret and you're losing your mind. It's actually been really entertaining."

"So _tell me_," He begged. "What's going on?"

She held her breath. _How _to put this in words? "I don't know how to tell you." She sighed dejectedly.

That was only raising more alarms for Jun. "You _can. _You can tell me _anything. _It's how it's always been between us. Celest, if you're in _any _kind of trouble, Musa and I will do whatever it takes to protect you."

"I'm not in trouble. At least… I don't _think _I am. I can't tell, but probably. I don't know!"

"It doesn't matter; you don't have to deal with it alone."

"Well…! I… It's like this…" Each time she opened her mouth, only partial words or air would come out. Would his Spartan training prepare him for this bomb she was about to dump on his bald head?

"I'm gonna turn 50 by the time you actually say it!"

"Okay, okay!" She released another epic sigh, as well as the two words. "I'm pregnant."

"… Wait, what?" It was as if he did not pick that up.

"I-I said I'm pregnant."

He gawked for a few seconds and that made Celestina even more scared than she already was. _Oh, I'm fucked. _

"That's it? Oh man!" Much to her surprise, he placed a hand over his heart, relieved. "I thought it was something life-threatening! You really scared me! I-" He then paused. It was as if the reality of the news finally hit him like a ton of bricks. "Wait… did you just say that you're pregnant?"

She nodded, though timidly.

Jun gasped, as if he had been widely offended. "Christian, you jinx!"

Her eyes squinted at that. "What?"

"Nothing," He waved it off, getting back on track. "Wait, I don't understand. _Why _didn't you tell me the moment you found out?"

"One reason? I was afraid you'd freak the fuck out and be mad, but I can see that's not the case."

"I'm mostly confused. Mainly because-"

"The augmentations screwed up my insides? Well, it turns out the human reproductive system can be a bitch!"

"I... wouldn't have put it that way but okay. What are the other reasons?"

"I just… don't know what to do!" She almost squealed.

"What do you mean, princess?"

"I mean… What would _we _know about raising a kid?" She questioned, pushing herself away from her desk. "We've only known a life of _war_. I don't know how to run a family; all I have are those 7 years with my own family and I've only got bits and pieces! _How _does one even raise a baby in a military base? What would we be able to give him? Or her? What could we _possibly _offer the kid? Teach him how to snipe a motherfucker from 50 yards away? How to stab a guy in the face? Just… _how _are we supposed to take care of a kid? It's just unreal!"

He listened intently and then slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants. "You make it sound like you don't think you can be a good mother."

She shook her head vigorously. "I can't be. I couldn't take care of myself for the majority of my life. I depended on you. A brand new life is going to be dependent on me now and how am I supposed to do that?"

Nodding at her words, he casually made his way towards her. "First of all, you and I are in this together, so you're not alone. And second of all… I remember this mission we had as Team Phantom. 2545, I believe. The Covenant invaded the small colony of Decorence. We were called to assist and save as many lives as we could. We drove the Covenants off this neighborhood and you entered this house after detecting a human lifeform and… you emerged with this baby in your arms. You held her as if she was the most precious thing in all of existence. You spoke to her, sang her your lullaby. You refused to move on to the next location until she was in the right hands."

Of course, Celestina could not fight the grin as she herself recalled that day. "Major Owens was baffled. Did he honestly think that calling me 'crazy' and a 'freak-of-nature' would offend me?"

"Owens was always a jerk, anyways. You, on the other hand-"

"I was just doing my job. To protect the innocent."

"A job that you were perfect for," He added. "Come on, princess. You think I or even Emile could've handled that situation better? We wouldn't have known the first thing to do. Probably just stare at each other in confusion. Celest," Jun then took her hands. "You're naturally warm and loving. This Spartan life never hardened you like it did to others. I think you'll be a great mother to him. Or her. It'll be fine."

With a heavy sigh, she pulled away, needing to take a seat on the sofa. "I'm just worried… that we'll get in huge trouble. Yeah, we're no longer in active duty but that doesn't change the fact that we're Spartans. I'm scared of the consequences. ONI's gonna _kick_ our _asses_. What will they do to us? And him? Or her?"

Jun followed her to the sofa, sitting right next to her. "We're part of the Spartan branch, princess. Not ONI."

"But we used to be. Surely they'll get involved and try to do something about this and it won't be pretty."

"ONI will have to kill me if they want to lay a finger on you or our kid."

It was hard to stop that smile that was forcing its way to her lips. His bold statement also caused her to giggle.

"I knew that would make you laugh."

"Actually…" She glanced up at his face. "It sounds like you want to give this a try."

"That depends on what _you _want, Celest. The choice is yours."

She fell silent at that for 3 heartbeats, as if she was scared to say the next words. "If we can't do this, there'll be hundreds of families who can give him a better life. It wouldn't be right to take the other road. This kid's innocent after all."

"Fair enough. Giving him up would definitely be better than the other road." He nodded at that, completely understanding. Or so she thought.

This was one of the moments where he let his mask slip. "Tell me the truth." She requested. "I highly doubt you want to give him up though. In fact, I'm really surprised that you're taking this lightly."

He snickered. "Lightly? Oh no. I'm terrified. Panicked. I'm still wondering how come I haven't fainted yet. I mean, let's face it: between the two of us, you're better fitted to be a parent. I'd be a _terrible _father! But if I have to think about it… considering that the kid's my blood, I don't see how I'll be able to part with him after he's born. He's our family."

"You're right. It's… actually a pretty amazing thing," She smiled. "These past few days, he or she has been quite the influence on me. I've been super careful about where I step or what I eat."

"Are you sure? Because you've been eating more than usual. I was wondering where you packed it all."

She pouted at that. "I'm not fat, am I?"

With a smile, he patted her head. "You're perfect, don't worry."

"We'll need to tell Musa, though."

"I'm sure Musa will help us out. He loves us after all. At least… I think he does."

A gleeful laughter left her upon hearing that and it took her a few seconds to calm herself. "You really think we can do this?"

Jun could not say for sure. This was going to take their lives in a completely different direction. "I honestly don't know. Guess we'll have to see, won't we?"

She gave him one final nod. "Yeah," Celestina did, however, had one final question. "You think he or she will pop out wearing MJOLNIR armor?"

* * *

**A/N: Hope you've enjoyed! :)  
**

**I'm also opening to taking ideas for all these extra chapters. :)**


	42. IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Hello, everyone!

I'm in the process of completely rewriting this story. It's the 2nd version, as well as what I consider to be the official version to Celestina's past, present, and future.

I do hope you enjoy it! It's titled, **Love at Long Range (VERSION 2)**.

Thanks for reading! :D  
\- Ash


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